/ 



^*^3 



4.f4 



i»S(**' 




SIR WALTER RALEIGH BETS WITH THE QUEEN. 



W. & R. CHAMBERS'S WORKS. 



CHAMBER'S CYCLOPAEDIA OF ENGLISH LITERATURE j 

A selection of the choicest productions of English Authors, 
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In two vols, octavo, with upwards of 300 elegant illustrations. 
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V The Publishers of the AMERICAN Edition of this valuable work desira 
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EO M AN C E 



OF 



AMERICAN HISTOEY, 



AS ILLUSTRATED IN 



THE EARLY EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE FRENCH 

SETTLEMENT AT FORT CAROLINA ; THE SPANISH 

COLONY AT ST. AUGUSTINE, AND THE ENGLISH 

PLANTATION AT JA5IEST0WN. 



BY 



JOSEPH BANVARD, 

AUTHOR OF PLYMOUrH AND THE PILGUIMS, NOVELTIES OF THE NEW WORLD, 

ETC., ETC. 

.J»»»>» 1 33>,,J^ 

»»» o J»»a > '"^ 

.'»!>«. > } 1 1 > t , 

. > > 1 > > ' 

* »*■»!» O -i * * O *^ ^ .- ' 

WElitif Ellustrattons. 

BOSTON: 
GOULD AND LINCOLN, 

S9 WASHINGTON STREET. 

1852. 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by 
GOULD AND LINCOLN, 
Li the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts, 



f 3 ^ r 



101 









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AC 



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STEREOTYrED AT THE 
BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. 



^ , PREFACE. 



The early colonial history of the Southern 
States abounds in incidents of a highly roman- 
tic nature, especially Florida and Virginia. 
Some of these have found their way into the 
various Histories of the United States, and 
others have not. A particular narration of all 
the events of all the states of the Union would 
be a work so voluminous as, by its magnitude, 
to deter many from its perusal. Hence writers 
on the history of the whole country, from its 
discovery, are, from the necessity of the case, 
obliged to condense their accounts, and even 
reject much that is interesting. 

In this work an opposite course has been 
pursued. A limited extent of country and a 
comparatively short period of time have been 
embraced, and the interesting incidents which 
occurred within those limits minutely related. 
They pass before the eye in their various bril- 
liant or sombre hues, like a continuous picture ; 

1* 



6 PREFACE. 

enabling us to see the trials and struggles of 
the early settlers as they contended with the ^ 
climate and the elements, with the savage In- 
dian, or with famine and disease. This por- 
traiture of events, in detail, imparts a far more 
vivid conception of the lights and shadows of 
colonial life than could be derived from a mere 
general outline. 

If this volume should be the means of 
awakening a deeper interest in the early an- 
nals of our country, and of producing a higher 
appreciation of the blessings we now enjoy, by 
contrast with the trials of the first planters, its 
object will be gained. 

Without mentioning all the authorities which 
have been consulted, it is proper to state that 
amongst the works from which has been de- 
rived special assistance were Hakluyt's Col- 
lection of Early Voyages ; The Generall His- 
toric of Virginia, by Captain John Smith; 
Stith's Essay ; Bancroft's History ; and the 
Life of Captain Smith, by George S. Hillard, 
in Sparks's valuable series of biographies. 



NOTICE. 



The Publishers, on issuing the third volume of Rev. 
Mr. Banvard's Series of American Histories, are happy 
to state that the commendatory notices of the press, and 
the rapid sale of the first volumes, give flattering encour- 
agement for the series. Other volumes are in course of 
preparation. 

This series will embrace the most interesting and impor- 
tant events which have occurred in the United States since 
the first settlement of the country ; illustrating the trials 
and adventures of the early colonists both at the North and 
the South, their intercourse and conflicts with the natives, 
their peculiarities of character and manners, the gradual 
development of their institutions, sketches of their promi- 
nent men in both the Church and the State, incidents in the 
Revolution, with various other subjects of interest of more 
recent date. They will be adapted to the popular mind, and 
especially to the youth of our country, and will contain 
numerous fine engravings. There will be twelve or more 
16mo. volumes, consisting of about three hundred pages 
each, each volume to be complete in itself; and yet, when 
all are published, they will, together, form a regular Series 
OF American Histories. 



%\Bi n! Sllustrntinns. 



I. FKONTISPIECK — SIR WALTER AND QUEEN 
ELIZABETH. 
11. ILLUSTRATED TITLE PAGE. 

in. MAKING A CANOE 59 

IV. PORTRAIT OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH 68 

V. SPANISH BULL HUNT 72 

VL FINDING THE BURIED GOODS 135 

VIL COOKING OVER A NATURAL SPRING 147 

Vin. SMITH AND HIS LIVING SHIELD 171 

IX. INDIAN REVENGE 178 

X. MARRIAGE OF POCAHONTAS 270 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Admiral de Coligny. — His Expedition. — John Ribault. — Discovers the 
River May. — Reception by the Indians. — Devotional Services. — Ex- 
change of Presents. — Donation of Fish. — Search for the Jordan. — 
Rivers with French Names. — Fort Carolina erected. — Ribault re- 
turns. — The Colonists discontented. — They form a Conspiracy. — 
They kill their Commandant. — They build a Vessel. — Set out to 
return. — Horrors of the Passage. — Picked up at Sea. — Coligny not 
disheartened. — Roman Catholics and the Huguenots. — Religious 
Persecutions 19 



CHAPTER II. 

Opinions respecting Florida. — Departure of Laudonniere. — Conduct 
of the Indians. — Dissensions. — Piracy. — Fort Carolina. — Wel- 
come Visitors. — Kindnessof Sir John Hawkins Spanish Claims. — 

Huguenots. — Religious Antipathies. — The Pirate Melendez. — His 
Agreement with the King. — Sets out in Pursuit of the French. — 



10 CONTENTS. 

Storm at Sea. — Melendez separates from liis Company. — Discovers 
a safe Harbor. — Its Name, and the Reason of it. — Melendez finds 
the French Fleet. — His cruel Message. — The French flee. — Are 
pursued unsuccessfully. — The oldest Town in the United States. . . 29 



CHAPTER III. 

Eibault returns. — Fears. — Divided Counsels. — A great Tempest. — 
Spaniards attack the French. — Scenes of Carnage. — Unnecessary 
Cruelty. — Religious Ceremonies. — Deceptive Offers. — Captives 
murdered. — The Catholics spared. — Insulting Sentence. — Justifi- 
cation. — Royal Indifference. — De Gfourgues seeks Revenge. — At- 
tacks the Spaniards. — Is successful. — Retaliatory Sentence. — The 
French relinquish Florida 



CHAPTER IV. 

Catholic Priests. — Augustin Ruyz. — New Mexico explored. — Sir 
Humphrey Gilbert, — Visits Newfoundland. — Supposed Discovery of 
Silver. — Secret mining Operations. — A Vessel lost. — Severe Weath- 
er. — Sir Humphrey lost in the Squirrel. — Sir Walter Raleigh. — His 
Perseverance. — Wococon. — Interviews with the Natives. — Gran- 
ganimeo. — His Court Etiquette. — Visit of Ceremony. — His Wife. — 
Their Dresses. — The Chief's Monopoly 46 



CHAPTER V. 

Indian Prudence. — Method of making Canoes. — Character of Gran- 
ganimeo. — Visit to Roanoke. — Indian Hospitality. — Female Kind- 
ness. — Character and Habits of the Natives. — English Timidity. — 
Gratitude. — Shipwrecked white Men. — Their fatal Adventure. — 



CONTENTS. 11 

Wonder of the Natives. — Their Weapons and Modes of Warfare. — 
The Secotanites. ~ A great Feast. — A dreadful Slaughter. — The 
English Captains return Home. — They take with them two In- 
dians 58 



CHAPTER VI. 

Glowing Accounts of the new Countries. — Origin of the Name Vir- 
ginia. — Sir Walter Raleigh's Privileges. — Greenville's Expedition. — 
Touch at Porto Rico. — False Promises. — Fiery Retaliation. — Ban- 
quets. — Bull Hunt. — Bargaining. — Dangerous Sport. — Fine Fish- 
ing. — A Message to Wingina. — Exploring Expedition. — The stolen 
Cup. — Severe Revenge. — Granganimeo's last Visit. — Greenville 
returns. — Comparative Dates 67 



CHAPTER VII. 

Explorations. — Description of the Country. — An intelligent Captive. — 
Pearls. — Menatonon. — Two Companies. — Assignation. — A marvel- 
lous River. — Pemissapan's Treachery. — Concealment of the In- 
dians. — Critical Situation. — The Governor's Policy. — Firmness of 
the Company. — Dog Porridge. — Rumors of Gold. — Mining Opera- 
tions. — Perseverance of the Company. — Lane's interesting Ac- 
count. — Attack by the Indians. — They retreat to the Woods. — 
The perilous Return 76 



CHAPTER VIII. 

New Plots. — The Colony in great Jeopardy. — Indian Funeral Cus- 
toms. — Murders projected. — The Plot revealed. — The Watch- 
word. — Pemissapan slain. — The Colony saved. — A Fleet. — Pain- 



12 CONTENTS. 

ful Suspense. — Relief. — Sir Francis Drake. — His Kindness. — Great 
Storm. — Its Effects. — The Colonists disheartened. — Drake takes 
them on Board. — Character of Lane. — Arrival of Supplies, but no 
Colony. — Their Return. — Arrival of Sir Richard Greenville. — His 
Surprise. — His Return. — He leaves fifteen Men. — He destroys 
Spanish Towns 80 



CHAPTER IX. 

Indian Clothing. — Their Weapons. — Their Houses. — Mode of War- 
fare. — Their religious Opinions. — Stories about Resurrection from 
the Dead. — Astonishment at certain English Articles. — Their Opin- 
ions of the English. — Their religious Instruction. — Their singular 
Treatment of the Bible. — Requests for Prayers. — Strange Sick- 
ness. — How it was accounted for. — English thought to be Gods. — 
Invisible Bullets — Indian Uses of Tobacco. — Snuff for Fish. — 
Raleigh's Wager with the dueen. — A Man on Fire. — Permanence 
of Indian Customs 98 



CHAPTER X. 

A new Colony. — An Obstinate Pilot. — Search for the Fifteen. — Con- 
dition of Roanoke. — Affecting Scene. — Repairs begun. — The Pi- 
lot's Designs defeated. — Death of Mr. George Howe by the In- 
dians. — A welcome Reception. — A Badge of Friendship desired. — 
A formal Conference. — Fate of the Fifteen. — Attack of the In- 
dians. — The English defetited. — False Promises. — A Midnight 
Excursion. — Indians surprised. — A fatal Mistake. — How it oc- 
curred. — Manteo blames the Indians. — Manteo christened. — First 
English Child born. — Virginia Dare 110 



CONTENTS. 13 



CHAPTER XI. 

Spanish Armada. — All England aroused. — Noble Speech of the 
Q,ueen. — Splendid Sight. — English Stratagem. — Signal Defeat. — 
The Armada destroyed. — White's Perseverance. — Success. — Disap- 
pointment. — Great Smoke, but no People. — Fatal Accident. — A 
musical Call. — No Response. — Significant Letters, Croatan. — 
Goods dug up. — Water wanted. — Severe Weather. — Victuals 
scarce. — Strange Decision. — The Colonists abandoned to their 
Fate. — A subsequent Tradition concerning them. — Its Uncer- 
tainty. — Present State of Roanoke 121 



CHAPTER XII. 

The two Companies. — The obnoxious Charter. — Divine Providence 
controlling Nations. — Rev. Mr. Hunt. — His Troubles and Persever- 
ance. — The Missionary Spirit. — Hot Springs. — Numerous Birds. — 
Captain John Smith. — His Popularity. — His Imprisonment. — The 
two Capes. — The Landing. — Attack of the Savages. — Their Re- 
pulse. — Oysters. — Flowers. — Strawberries. — Point Comfort. — The 
Sealed Box. — Anxiety to open it. — Its Contents. — The Officers of 
the Colony. — Explanations. — A Place for a Settlement 142 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Smith unjustly ejected from the Council. — Building of Jamestown. — 
Wingfield's Indiscretion. — Romantic Residence of the Indian King. — 
Powhatan's Conduct. — Attack on Jamestown. — Prowling Indians. — 
Ambuscades. — Severe Toil. — Attempt to send Smith Home. — Cap- 
tain Smith's Trial. — His honorable Acquittal. — President Wingfield 
convicted and sentenced. — Smith's Disinterestedness. — Good Influ- 

2 



14 CONTENTS. 

ence of Mr. Hunt. — Smith admitted to the Council Board. — Singu- 
lar Fact. — Interesting Coincidence 152 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Quaint Language. — The President's Selfishness. — Trials of the Plant- 
ers. — Frequent Deaths. — The President's Imbecility. — Smith's In- 
fluence. — His Example of Industiy, — Dwellings provided — Pro- 
visions scarce. — Smith searches the Country for Food. — Insulting 
Offers of the Savages. — Smith's Treatment of them. — Terrific At- 
tack. — Peace and Provisions secured. — Bartering. — Smith cen- 
sured. — Exploring Excursion. — Wastefulness of the Planters. — 
Wingfield's Plot. — Its Detection and Prevention. — Abundance of 
Game. — Smith examines the Chickahominy River. — He leaves his 
Boat, and takes to a Canoe 159 



CHAPTER XV. 

Disobeying Orders. — Its painful Consequence. — Fate of two Canoe 
Men. — Indian Skill in Trailing. — A live Shield. — An Accident. — 
Smith captured. — His Policy. — Exhibits a Pocket Compass, — Gives 
a Lecture. — Great Astonishment. — Smith sentenced to die. — His 
Reprieve. — Triumphal Procession. — How Smith is fed. — He suffers 
from Cold. — Gratitude in an Indian. — Revenge. — Reward offered 
for Treason. — Mysterious Note. — Indians visit Jamestown. — Their 
Reception. — Effect of the Note. — Finding of Toys. — Smith pub- 
licly exhibited 169 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Singular Costume. — Mysterious Ceremony. — Its Explanation. — Smith 
favored. — Visits Opitchapam. — Indian Beggars. — Apprehensions 



CONTENTS. 15 

of Danger. — Powder planted. — Emperor Powhatan. — Indian Splen- 
dor. — Guards. — Their severe Discipline. — Subordinate Kings. — 
Indian Toilet. — The Emperor's Court. — The Consultation. — Smith's 
Sentence. — Wonderful Deliverance. — Pocahontas. — Executioners 
disappointed. — Smith a Toy Maker. — " The Chieftain's Daugh- 
ter." — Female Kindness. — A sympathizing Brother 183 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Smith released. — His Suspicions. — The Cannon and the Grindstone. — 

Powder frightens. — Plot arrested The President imprisoned. — 

Pocahontas again. — Her timely Supplies. — Smith regarded with 
Reverence. — His Prediction fulfilled. — Ceremonial Visit. — New- 
port frightened. — Powhatan's State. — Smith visits him fearlessly. — 
His Reception. — Newport gathers Courage. — Royal Shrewdness. — 
Newport cheated. — Smith's Indignation. — His successful Cun- 
ning. — The Biter bitten 195 



CHAPTER XVIII. ; 

Value of blue Beads. — A Conflagration. — Mr. Hunt's Trials and Pa- 
tience. — Gold Fever. — The Phoenix. — Turkeys and Swords. — 
Weapons stolen. — Smith's Decision. — Powhatan negotiates through 
Pocahontas. — She is successful. — Unreasonable Complaints. — Ce- 
dar against Gold. — Chesapeake Bay explored. — A noble Chief. — 

Places named. — Sufler for Water — A Storm. — Limbo Shirt 

Sails. — Wild Men. — Stratagem defeated. — Effects of Kindness. — 
Indian Merchants. — The Party discouraged. — Smith's Persever- 
ance. — Treachery discovered. — Timely Supplies 206 



16 CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Another Mineral Fever. — Frying Pan and Fishes. — Accident. — Sting- 
ray. — Smith's Grave dug, but not used. — A disguised Boat. — 
Smith elected Tresident. — Another Expedition. — A successful Ar- 
tifice. — The Tockwoghs. — The acceptable Falsehood. — Great Joy. — 
A Visit from the Sasquesahanocks. — They worship Smith, and ofier 
him a Chieftaincy. — Treachery of the Rappahanocks. — Todkill's 
narrow Escape. — A novel Expedient. — More Deception. — Indians 
whipped into Peace. — A Cluster of Evils 221 



CHAPTER XX. 

Smith installed Governor. — Newport returns. — Smith outvoted. — - 
Pocahontas. — Her Amusements for Smith. — Powhatan's Haughti- 
ness. — Inappropriate Presents. — A Coronation not understood.— 
Stingy Reciprocity. — The Manakins found. — Their Exclusiveness. — 
Seeking Merchandise. — Novel Employment. — A queer Cure for 
Profanity. — Selfishness fatal to the general Good. — Newport dissat- 
isfied. — Is glad to return to England. — Probably misrepresents the 
Colony 232 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Trials. — Powhatan's Invitation. — Smith visits him. — Keeps Christ- 
mas. — Powhatan's Deception. — A villanous Plot. — Pocahontas de- 
feats it. — She declines Rewards. — Distressing Calamity. — A Mes- 
senger to Smith. — His Life sought. — Pocahontas conceals and saves 
him. — A supposed Miracle. — Mysterious Explosion. — Ratcliffe and 
others slain. — Pocahontas saves a Boy. — Unparalleled Sufierings. — 
Large Numbers die. — The Town abandoned. — Lord Delaware 



CONTENTS. 17 

arrives. — The Settlers return. — A Sermon. — Lord Delaware's 
Promptness and Energy. — The Colony revived 244 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Pocahontas concealed. — Treacherous Japazaws. — His cunning Plot. — 
Pocahontas betrayed. — She becomes captive to Argall. — Copper 

Kettle. — Powhatan's Policy. — A Truce Pocahontas and her 

Brothers. — Messengers to Powhatan. — Are unsuccessful. — Pocahon- 
tas in Love. — She marries an Englishman. — Effects of her Mar- 
riage. — She is instructed in Religion. — Is converted. — Her differ- 
ent Names. — Stith's Testimony of her 263 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Pocahontas visits England. — Smith's Letter to the Queen.— He meets 
Pocahontas. — Her Coolness and Rebukes. — Smith's Apology. — Re- 
ply of Pocahontas. — Smith introduces her to the Nobility. — Poc- 
ahontas visits the King and dueen. — Her graceful Deportment. — 
She goes to various Places of Amusement. — Her Husband appointed 
Secretary. — Pocahontas dies. — Sorrow and Joy. — She leaves one 
Child. — Steukley's Treachery. — Her Child taken to his Uncle's. — 
The Descendants of Pocahontas. — John Randolph. — Story of Tom- 
ocomo 273 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Young Ladies imported. — Interesting Scene. — Long Courtships pre- 
vented. — Buying Wives. — Their Value in Tobacco. — Wise Ar- 
rangement. — Its desirable Effects. — Slaves introduced. — Increase 
of Plantations. — Deceptive Peace. — A dark Plot forming. — An 

2* 



18 CONTENTS. 

extensive Conspiracy. — A dreadful Massacre. — Barbarous Mutila- 
tions. —Jamestown saved. — Chance's Bisclosure. — Results of the 
Conspiracy 282 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Effects of the Massacre. — A difficult Question. — Smith's Proposal. — 
Indian War. — Stringent Treatment. — A second Massacre. — Ope- 
chancanough a Prisoner. — He is murdered. — Border War. — The 
Indians conquered. — Dissolution of the London Company. — Bap- 
tism enjoined by LavA'. — Union of Church and State. — Quakers 
condemned. — How to judge the early Settlers. — Church-Wardens. — 
Laws concerning Marriage. — Concerning Shipmasters. — Whipping 
Posts and Ducking Stools. — The Sabbath. — Fast.— The two Col- 
onies. — Closing Remark 294 



CHAPTER I. 

Admiral de Colig'ny. — His Expedition. — John Ribault. — Dis- 
covers the River May. — Reception by the Indians. — De- 
votional Services. — Exchange of Presents. — Donation of 
Fish. — Search for the Jordan. — Rivers with French Names. — 
Fort Carolina erected. — Ribault returns. — The Colonists dis- 
contented. — The}' form a Conspiracy. — They kill their Com- 
mandant. — They build a Vessel. — Set out to return. — Hor- 
rors of the Passage. — Picked up at Sea. — Coligny not dis- 
heartened. — Roman Catholics and the Huguenots. — Religious 
Persecutions. 

A NAME which occupies a conspicuous place in 
the history of the early settlements of North Amer- 
ica is that of Admiral de Coligny, a distinguished 
French Protestant, with whom it had long been a 
favorite object to establish a colony in America, as 
a place of safe retreat for the Huguenots, as the 
French Protestants were then called, where they 
would be secure from the persecuting edicts of a 
fanatical government, and of a powerful ecclesias- 
tical hierarchy. For the accomplishment of this 
desired object, an expedition was finally planned, 
the execution of which was committed to a cou- 
rageous and experienced officer of Dieppe, whose 
name was John Ribault. Instead of the profligate 
inmates of prisons, with whom some previous at- 
tempts at forming settlements in North America had 



20 CAPTAIN RIBAULT's VOYAGE. 

been unsuccessfully made, he was accompanied hy 
some of the flower of the French nobility, and by 
soldiers of tried courage and good discipline. 

Furnished with two ships, he safely crossed what 
was then the comparatively unknown Atlantic, and 
arrived upon the coast of America, near the thir- 
tieth degree of north latitude. Whilst sailing along 
near the land, carefully observing the inequalities 
of the shore, he discovered in the month of May, 
1562, the mouth of a river, which he called River 
of May — a name, however, which was not destined 
to be permanent, as it was afterwards supplanted by 
the " St. John's," which it still retains. 

Ribault anchored at the mouth of this river for 
the purpose of making an examination of it. Early 
the next morning, a boat, well filled with men, left 
the ship for that purpose. As it approached the 
land, the men on board discovered large numbers 
of Indians of both sexes on the shore, who had 
come down to give these pale-faced strangers, who 
had visited them in their floating houses, a friendly 
reception. When they arrived within hearing, the 
chief of this people delivered a peaceful oration, 
and then made presents of chamois skins to the 
French captain. 

On the following day. Captain Ribault planted a 
pillar of hard stone on a little swell of land near 
the mouth of the river ; and on this pillar he en- 



A WELCOME RECEPTION. 21 

graved the arms of France, as evidence that the 
French had taken possession of this country. 

After saihng some distance farther up, he landed 
again, and in the presence of the natives, he caused 
his men to offer prayers and thanksgiving to Al- 
mighty God for his great kindness in conducting 
them to this new world without the occurrence of 
any injury. 

After these devotional services, the Indians, who 
had been very attentive observers, rose up, and 
advanced with their friendly salutations towards 
Ribault, and offered to introduce him to their chief, 
who had not arisen with the rest, but remained still 
sitting upon a seat covered with the leaves of the 
bay and palm trees. Ribault accepted of their 
offer, approached the chief, took a seat by his side, 
and listened impatiently to a long address, not one 
word of which could he understand. At the close 
of this incomprehensible speech, the chief pre- 
sented the French officer with a beautiful fan of 
heron's feathers, dyed red, a basket ingeniously 
made of the branches of the palm tree, and a large 
skin robe elegantly embroidered with the pictures 
of various kinds of wild beasts, and very likely of 
those which he had slain in the chase. Ribault, to 
show that he fully appreciated these acts of cour- 
tesy, gave him in return some tin bracelets, a look- 
ing glass, a cutting hook, and several knives. 



22 DISCOVERY OF PORT ROYAL. 

When the captain signified his intention to leave, 
the friendly chief professed much sorrow, and com- 
manded his men to furnish the strangers with some 
fish. They immediately entered into their wears, 
which were enclosures made of reeds, for the taking 
of fish, and soon loaded the French with trouts, 
mullets, plaice, turbots, and various other unknown 
kinds. 

After leaving these friendly natives, and passing 
farther along the coast, several other rivers were 
discovered, each of which received a French appel- 
lation, and generally after some river in France, as 
the Seine, the Loire, the Garonne, &-c. These 
names, like the May, were transient. 

Whilst examining the coast in order to find the 
Combahee River, which was then called the Jordan, 
Ribault discovered a noble inlet, which he desig- 
nated Port Royal — a name which it has never lost. 
Passing within this inlet, he landed on an island, 
where, by the formal erection of a monumental 
stone, on which was sculptured the French coat of 
arms, and with other appropriate ceremonies, he 
again took possession of the country in the name 
of the French king. On this island Ribault set his 
men to work, who, in the process of time, erected 
a fort, to which he gave the name of Fort Carolina, 
in honor of Charles IX. of France, Carolus being 
the Latin for Charles. This name was afterwards 



FORT CAROLINA. 23 

extended to the adjacent country, and is still re- 
tained by two of the states of the American Union. 
It is a circumstance worthy of special note, that 
the French succeeded in impressing a permanent 
name upon this portion of the continent a century 
prior to its occupation by the English. 

After the erection of Fort Carolina, it became 
necessary for Ribault to return to France ; but 
being desirous to retain possession of the place 
until his return, he left a colony of twenty-six men 
for that purpose. Although these colonists were 
surrounded with groves of venerable trees, inter- 
mingled with the delicate drapery of the vine, and 
ornamented with a profusion of variegated flowers ; 
though Nature presented herself before them ar- 
rayed in her most attractive garb, filling the groves 
with the wild melody of unknown birds, and load- 
ing the air with spicy fragrance; and though the 
untutored savages — the native lords of the soil — 
were of a friendly disposition, yet they soon be- 
came discontented. After the departure of the 
vessels, and these twenty-six adventurers were left 
the sole civilized occupants of a vast continent, 
instead of adopting the policy which their lonely 
situation required, and merging all minor differ- 
ences into a union for the general good, they al- 
lowed dissensions to creep in amongst them. A 
spirit of insubordination was manifested among the 



24 CONSPIRACY AND MURDER. 

soldiers, which the commandant endeavored to sup- 
press by severe measures. The soldiers were in- 
dignant, and determined to be revenged. They 
formed a conspiracy, and took the commandant's 
life. Thus rebellion and murder were prominent 
characteristics in this early attempt to form a col- 
ony upon the shores of North America. 

After the death of their officer, as supplies and 
reenforcements did not reach them, and their con- 
dition was daily becoming worse, they concluded 
to return home. To effect this earnestly-desired 
object was no easy task. Separated from their 
country by a wide waste of waters of three thou- 
sand miles in extent, destitute of vessels and of 
suitable materials for the construction of one ad- 
equate to their purpose, — to return must have 
seemed almost hopeless. But men on the borders 
of despair can accomplish wonders. Gathering 
together the best materials they could find, they 
constructed a rude brigantine, rigged it as well as 
they were able, put in a few stores, and embarked 
upon their perilous voyage. In a few hours, they 
were far out upon the unexplored deep. The land 
of their unhappy adventures gradually sunk as they 
receded from it, until it appeared like a long, low, 
black cloud resting upon the water of the distant 
horizon. Presently it disappeared entirely. Day 
after day they slowly ploughed their way across the 



RETURN OF THE COLONISTS. 25 

heaving billows, without apparently making any 
progress ; for they had no landmarks by which to 
be made sensible of advance. The same monot- 
onous scene was around them at night on which 
they opened their eyes in the morning, whilst in 
the morning they seemed to be in the same spot 
where they were when the last rays of the setting 
sun bade them farewell ; as if they had anchored 
over night to guard against danger in the dark. 
They seemed to be in the centre of an immense 
dome, without the possibility of making any ap- 
proach towards the circumference. Day after day, 
and week after week, their eyes were greeted in 
every direction by the same meeting of sky and 
water, and at the same distance from them. All 
tliis, however, was only in appearance. They were 
in reality making progress, though not very rapidly. 
A new calamity presented itself. Either from 
wrong calculations respecting the length of the 
voyage, or the amount of food the company would 
consume per day, or else from necessity, they did 
not put on board sufficient stores to last them 
during the voyage. They were obliged to be put 
upon short allowance, and even then were doomed 
to see their provisions grow smaller and small- 
er, until the last portion was consumed. Famine, 
with its attendant horrors, stared them in the face. 
In order to continue their existence, they were 
3 



26 PICKED UP AT SEA. 

reduced to the terrific necessity of eating the flesh 
of one of the company ! It was a fearful expedi- 
ent ; but men reduced to their extremity will resort 
to any measures to preserve existence. 

Life is made up of contrasts. Light follows 
darkness, and smiles banish tears. One day, whilst 
they were musing upon the perils of their condi- 
tion, and balancing the probabilities, favorable and 
unfavorable of their final deliverance, they saw 
indications of land. At the same time, a small 
white speck presented itself upon the distant hori- 
zon. It gradually increased, until they were satis- 
fied that it was a vessel. It was a welcome sight, 
as it furnished them food for hope. All eyes were 
strained to watch its course. They steered their 
own vessel in the proper direction to meet it. For 
a time they were in suspense whether they were 
observed by the stranger, or whether he would pass 
on and leave them. Their feehngs were intense. 
To their great joy, they succeeded in arresting his 
attention, speaking with him, and relating their dis- 
tress. They were at once taken on board and 
provided for, and thus, through the intervention of 
a kind Providence, they were saved from starvation 
^nd from a watery grave. This vessel proved to be 
an English bark. Some of the men who were 
picked up were taken to England, and otliers 
ianded in France. Thus terminated the first at- 



ROMANISTS AND HUGUENOTS. 27 

tempt of the French to estabhsh a colony in what 
was then called Florida, near the south-eastern 
corner of the present South Carolina. 

The Admiral de Coligny, notwithstanding the 
disastrous close of this attempt, was not disheart- 
ened. He projected another settlement, which, 
however, was doomed to experience a dreadful 
overthrow. 

Before narrating the particulars of one of the 
most humiliating and tragic events which occurred 
in the early history of this country, it is necessary 
to state that a civil war, with all its attendant bar- 
barities, had been prevailing in France between the 
Protestants and the Roman Catholics. In 1563, it 
was determined by the French government to dis- 
miss all magistrates from office who were tainted 
with the heretical opinions of the Huguenots, as 
the French Protestants were called, and to tolerate 
no religion but the Catholic. This was a resolu- 
tion which, as the Huguenots were numerous and 
powerful, could not be executed without an appeal 
to the sword. Accordingly, both parties immedi- 
ately betook themselves to arms. Pope Pius V., 
the head of the Roman Catholic church, interested 
himself in the war, and even sent an army from 
Italy in aid of the French Catholics, to whom he 
gave the cruel order, as they left him, to slay every 
Huguenot they should take, and give no quarter. 



28 PERMANENT ANTIPATHY. 

The Huguenots evinced a similar spirit, and also 
gave no quarter. It was a war in which not only 
were the natural malevolent passions called into 
violent exercise, but sectarian bigotry and religious 
frenzy added fuel to the flames. Each party re- 
garded themselves as fighting against the enemies 
of true religion, and as rendering good service to 
the church in putting them to death. 

Although in the course of the next year hostil- 
ities ceased, and peace was professedly established, 
yet the belligerent parties cherished a burning ha- 
tred towards each other. This mutual antipathy 
was not confined to the French. It was difiused 
wherever these parties existed. Huguenots and 
Catholics were every where the opponents of each 
other, whether they belonged to the same or to 
different nations. Tliis antipathy, as we shall pres- 
ently see, crossed the Atlantic, and brought forth 
its dreadful fruits of blood and death upon the 
shores of the new world. 



CHAPTER II. 

Opinions respecting' Florida. — Departure of Laudonniere. — Con- 
duet of the Indians. — Dissensions. — Piracy. — Fort Caro- 
lina. — Welcome Visitors. — Kindness of Sir John Hawkins. — 
Spanish Claims. — Huguenots. — Religious Antipathies. — The 
Pirate Melendez. — His Agreement with the King. — Sets out 
in Pursuit of the French. — Storm at Sea. — Melendez separates 
from his Company. — Discovers a safe Harbor. — Its Name, 
and the Reason of it. — Melendez finds the French Fleet. — 
His cruel Message. — The French flee. — Are pursued unsuc- 
cessfully. — The oldest Town in the United States. 

The civil war in France being arrested, the Ad- 
miral de Colignj resumed his efforts to establish a 
colony in some part of Florida. In addition to 
granting his royal permission, the French king fur- 
nished Coligny three vessels for his service, which 
were placed under the command of Laudonniere, a 
man of intelligence and force of character, and who 
had accompanied Ribault in his previous voyage.* 
As exaggerated statements had been made respect- 
ing the salubrious character of the climate of Flor- 
ida, as it was known to abound luxuriantly in various 
kinds of vegetable productions, and as it was be- 
lieved to be rich in the precious ores, it was no wise 
difficult to obtain emigrants in abundance. Men 

* Bancroft. • 



30 laudonniere's expedition. 

panting for adventures, or thirsting for gold, or de- 
siring a place of retreat from the liability of religious 
persecution, cheerfully presented themselves as ready 
to engage in the promising enterprise. As Coligny 
desired to obtain accurate information respecting 
the various objects which might be discovered in the 
far-off land, he engaged James Le Moyne, a skilful 
artist, to execute colored pictures of those which 
might be most deserving of attention. 

The trio of ships containing the adventurers, with 
their stores, left France April 22, 1564, and on the 
22d of June they arrived on the coast of Florida, 
having been sixty days upon the voyage. The com- 
modious harbor of Port Royal being surrounded 
with too many painful associations to be attractive, 
Laudonniere passed by it in search of a more pleas- 
ing location for a settlement. After selectino^ the 
banks of the River of May, he landed, and, in com- 
pany with his Huguenot brethren, commenced, with 
devotional services, the founding of a new colony. 
The Indians, instead of opposing their landing, re- 
ceived them with the cordiality of friends, and ex- 
tended to them their unrefined but genuine hospi- 
tality. Notwithstanding the propitious circumstances 
under which the colony was commenced, it was not 
long before a dark cloud overshadowed its prospects. 
Although amongst the emigrants were men of good 
principles, yet there' were others entirely destitute 



PIRATICAL EXPEDITION. 31 

of integrity, who were anxious only for the rapid 
increase of wealth, irrespective of the means by 
which it might be obtained. A mutinous disposition 
was manifested, which the commandant found it 
difficult to quell. Great wastefulness was practised 
in the use of food, by which their stores were soon 
exhausted, and want began to stare them in the face. 
A party among them, composed of the most insub- 
ordinate and reckless class, took advantage of this 
circumstance to oblige Laudonniere to give them a 
written permit to embark for New Spain ; and then, 
seizing two vessels, they set sail upon a piratical 
expedition against the commerce of the Spaniards. 
Out upon the wide ocean they fell in with two or 
three vessels. So soon as they discerned their flag, 
and discovered that they were Spanish, they bore 
down upon them like an eagle darting upon its prey, 
and succeeded in making them prizes. They were 
not permitted, however, to rejoice in their success any 
great length of time. It was their experience, as it 
has been that of many others, that the triumphing 
of the wicked is short. They were themselves cap- 
tured, when some of them were held as prisoners, 
others reduced to slavery, and a few, who made a 
successful attempt to escape, and returned to the 
colony, were there seized by Laudonniere, and sen- 
tenced to be executed. 

On the banks of the May the colonists erected a 



32 DISAPPOINTMENTS. 

fort, to which they also gave the name of Fort Car- 
oHna. For a number of weeks they had been ex- 
pecting supphes from their native land. Every little 
cloud that appeared upon the distant marine horizon 
was intensely watched, with the hope that it would 
enlarge into the beautiful form and proportions of a 
friendly ship ladened with the necessary stores. But 
these expectations were doomed to be successively 
blasted, as these deceptive clouds vanished into thin 
air, or enlarged and gathered themselves into moun- 
tainous heaps. After enduring this painful suspense 
for several months, to such extremities were they 
reduced for the want of food, that they concluded to 
abandon the settlement. This determination was 
strengthened by the unfavorable change which had 
taken place in the disposition of the Indians, whose 
original friendship had been converted into decided 
hostility by the unjust severities of the colonists. 
As they had no vessels in which it was suitable for 
them to risk a voyage across the ocean, their plan 
was to erect some small brigantines for that purpose, 
when, most opportunely, the fleet of Sir John Haw- 
kins arrived from the West Indies, where he had 
recently sold, at an immense profit, a cargo of human 
beings, whom he had torn from their native homes 
in Africa. It is an humiliating fact, that among the 
first marine employments upon the coast of America 
we find piracy and the slave trade ! 



CRUELTY AND BENEVOLENCE. 33 

Man is a bundle of inconsistencies. The most 
opposite traits of character are sometimes exhibited 
by the same individual, as was the case with this 
English slave trader. What could have been more 
cruel than the employment of Sir John Hawkins 
upon the coast of Africa, when tearing husbands 
from their wives, and parents from their children, 
with all the horrid accompaniments, to transport 
them amid the darkness, the stench, and the noisome- 
ness of the " middle passage," across the wide At- 
lantic, in order to reduce them to hopeless bondage 
in a foreign land ! And yet, when Hawkins found 
the colony of Laudonniere, on the coast of Florida, 
in a suffering condition, his compassion was excited ; 
he supplied them liberally with provisions, and even 
furnished them with a vessel from his own fleet to 
convey them back to France. 

After the preparations were completed, and the 
colony was on the eve of embarking, another fleet 
was descried entering the river and sailing towards 
the new settlement, which entirely changed the plans 
of the immigrants. These visitors proved to be the 
long-looked for reenforcements, bringing food, seeds 
for planting, agricultural implements, and a variety 
of domestic animals for raising stock. They were 
under the direction of Ribault, who had come to 
take the command of the colony. Sadness now 
gave place to joy. The idea of returning home was 



34 JOY SUCCEEDS SADNESS. 

abandoned, and the whole company went to work 
as if the point was settled that that was to be their 
permanent residence. 

It must be remembered than more than fifty years 
prior to this settlement of the French, this country 
was discovered by Ponce de Leon, a Spaniard, 
in his search after the fabled fountain of perpetual 
youth, from whom it received the name of Florida, 
and that upon his discovery was based the Spanish 
claim to the whole of North America. Fernando 
de Soto, a few years later, (1539,) also visited the 
country, and took formal possession of it in the name 
of the Spanish Emperor Charles V. De Soto ex- 
plored a large portion of the territory, and during 
his romantic wanderings, buried a large number of 
the bravest cavaliers of Spain. These claims the 
Spanish never relinquished, and, consequently, the 
French settlement at Fort Carolina was regarded as 
an encroachment upon the Spanish dominions. This 
of itself might have been deemed by them a suffi- 
cient justification of any attempt to drive the French 
intruders from the soil. In addition to this political 
reason was another of a religious character. These 
Huguenots, as we have seen, were Protestants, but 
the Spanish court, and the nation generally, were Ro- 
man Catholics. Thus in their religious views and feel- 
ings they were the antagonists of each other ; and any 
measures, however severe, for the e;sclusion of these 



PEDRO MELENDEZ. 35 

Huguenot Calvinists from the Spanish domain would 
be regarded by the bigoted Spaniards as acceptable 
service to Holy Mother Church. These facts will 
enable the reader to appreciate the tragic events 
which we are now about to relate. 

At the court of Spain there figured a naval officer 
who had spent many eventful years in his profes- 
sional pursuits, and who, by a naturally fierce dis- 
position and his familiarity with scenes of carnage 
and of death, was well fitted to engage in any work 
of sanguinary cruelty. His name was Pedro Me- 
lendez. With this pirate hunter, who himself had 
been convicted of crime, Philip H. of Spain entered 
into an agreement to secure the conquest of Florida. 
As the conditions of that agreement shed light upon 
those early periods of our history, it is deemed de- 
sirable here to insert them. 

Melendez engaged to invade the country with not 
less than five hundred men ; to subdue it within 
three years ; to explore its currents, channels, coasts, 
and harbors ; to form a settlement of at least five 
hundred persons, one fifth of whom should be mar- 
ried men, and sixteen Roman Catholic ecclesiastics, 
of whom four were to be Jesuits ; and all this at his 
own expense. He was also to introduce into the 
colony a variety of domestic animals ; and, last of 
all, as sugar was expected to become one of the 
staple productions of the country, he stipulated to 



36 AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE KING AND PEDRO. 

import five hundred negro slaves into the new 
country ! 

The king, on his part, appointed Melendez gov- 
ernor of Florida for life, with the privilege of nomi- 
nating his successor ; allowed him an annual salary 
from the colonial revenues ; assigned to him a terri- 
tory of seventy-five square miles in the neighborhood 
of the settlement, and a fifteenth of all the perqui- 
sites belonging to the king. 

The departure of Melendez from Spain was has- 
tened by the intelhgence that the French Protestants 
had already established themselves in the Spanish 
dominions in the new world. National antipathy 
and religious fanaticism, combined, created a high 
degree of sympathy among the people, in the expe- 
dition which was in progress ; the result of which 
was, that above twenty-five hundred persons, embra- 
cing sailors, soldiers, ecclesiastics, farmers, and me- 
chanics, among whom were married men and their 
families, engaged to go ; all of whom were to be 
sent at the expense of the notorious Melendez. In 
addition to these were three hundred soldiers, who 
accompanied the expedition at the expense of the 
government. 

All things being ready, the crusaders set sail in 
the month of July, 1565 ; but they had not been at 
sea many days before they were overtaken by a vio- 
lent tempest, which scattered the fleet. Melendez 



THE SPANIARDS DISCOVER THE FRENCH. 37 

kept on his voyage, and arrived at St. John, in the 
Island of Porto Rico, with only one third of his fleet. 
Without waiting for the arrival of the rest of his 
company, he set sail for Florida, and on the 2Sth 
of August, being the anniversary of St. Augus- 
tine, he came in sight of the coast. Not knowing 
where the French, of whom he was in pursuit, had 
planted themselves, he sailed along the coast, keep- 
ing a good lookout landward, with the hope of 
making a successful descent upon them. Whilst 
engaged in this search, he discovered a river, and a 
convenient, safe harbor, to which he gave the name 
of St. Augustine, in honor of the saint on whose 
anniversary he came upon the coast. Having ob- 
tained what information he could from the Indians 
relative to the location of the French, he left St. 
Augustine, and continued his course to the north, 
and in two or three days had the pleasure of seeing 
the masts of the French vessels piercing the distant 
horizon, like the barren tops of the pine, rising above 
the surface of the water from some sunken island. 
This was the fleet of Ribault, which had recently 
arrived with reenforcements to Fort Carolina, on 
the May. When the French saw the approach of 
these strangers, they sent to them to inquire who 
they were and what were their objects. The answer 
was characteristic of the ferocious Spaniard. He 
told them that h^ was Melendez of Spain, and had 
4 



33 OLDEST TOWN IN THE UNITED STATES. 

come at the command of his king to gibbet and be- 
head all the Protestants that he found in Florida. 
" The Catholic," said he, " I will spare, but every 
heretic shall die ! " This reply fell upon their ears 
like the knell of death. Taken by such sudden sur- 
prise, they at first knew not what measures to adopt. 
But a moment's reflection convinced them that it 
would be foolish temerity to engage in conflict with 
them ; and as they did not wish to be taken prisoners, 
nor try the sensations of the threatened gibbet or 
axe, they slipped their cables and run out to sea. 
The Spaniards gave chase ; but being unsuccessful 
in overtaking them, they returned to their newly- 
discovered harbor of St. Augustine, which they 
reached September 7, celebrated by the Catholics 
as the birthday of Mary. About noon, Melendez, 
with a company of his followers, went on shore, took 
formal possession of the continent in the name of 
his king, Philip II. of Spain, and then, in connection 
with the imposing service of the mass, laid the foun- 
dation of St. Augustine. This is the oldest town in 
the United States, it having been established more 
than forty years before any other. The Puritan 
Pilgrims did not land upon Plymouth rock till the 
22d of December, 1620, fifty-five years after the 
founding of St. Augustine. 



CHAPTER III. 

Ribault returns. — Fears. — Divided Counsels. — A Great Tem- 
pest. — Spaniards attack the French. — Scenes of Carnage. — 
Unnecessary Cruelty. — Religious Ceremonies. — Deceptive Of- 
fers. — Captives murdered. — The Catholics spared. — Insult- 
ing Sentence. — Justification. — Royal Indiflference. — De Gour- 
gues seeks Revenge. — Attacks the Spaniards. — Is successful. — 
Retaliatory Sentence. — The French relinquish Florida. 

When Ribault, the French commander, saw that 
the Spanish fleet, under Pedro Melendez, had re- 
linquished the pursuit of him, he returned to his 
Huguenot friends at Fort Carolina, whom he found 
in a state of considerable agitation, lest the unwel- 
come visits of the Spaniards might be renewed. 
They were disappointed, perplexed, and provoked. 
They had fled from persecutors in their own coun- 
try, in order that amid the solitudes of the new 
world they might enjoy freedom to worship God ; 
and before they had become fairly settled in their 
expected land of rest, their enemies were upon 
them, thirsting, like so many bloodhounds, for their 
death. Opinions among the colonists were divided. 
Some were in favor of strengthening their position, 
assuming a defensive attitude, and quietly waiting 
the approach of the enemy. Others thought it wiser 
policy to pursue them with the ships, and engage in 



40 TREMENDOUS STORM. 

conflict with them upon the ocean. This was the 
opinion of Ribault, and it prevailed. He accord- 
ingly sailed with his fleet, and thus withdrew from 
the colony the protection he might have extended to 
them if he had remained. He had not been gone 
long before the heavens were shrouded in gloom ; 
the wind blew at a fearful rate ; the waves rolled 
like mountains ; a terrific tempest came down upon 
him, scattering his fleet, driving them to the south, 
and sending every one of them on the rock-bound 
shore of Florida, a fatal wreck. The Spanish fleet 
suffered but little. 

The French at Fort Carolina were expecting the 
attack of the Spaniards from the sea. Instead of 
this, Melendez landed his troops, and, marching 
through the dense forests and deceitful everglades 
which intervened between St. Augustine and the 
French settlement, he attacked the feeble company 
from an unexpected quarter, and, after a short 
engagement, he made himself master of their po- 
sition. Now followed a scene of carnage in perfect 
keeping with the ferocious disposition of the suc- 
cessful Spaniard. Not satisfied with making them 
prisoners, he gave them up to the sword. Our 
heart sickens at the description of the horrid scene. 
Not only the soldiers, but the aged, the sick, help- 
less women and harmless children, were butchered 
in cold blood. A few succeeded in concealing 



A TERRIFIC CONFLICT. 41 

themselves in the siirroimdmg woods, but they could 
not long remain there ; yet, when they gave them- 
selves up to their conquerors, they were massacred 
like the rest. Not satisfied with this, the Spaniards 
wreaked their inordinate vengeance upon the dead, 
by mutilating their bodies in a barbarous manner. 
The number slain in this fearful struggle was about 
two hundred. 

As this victory was achieved on the festival of 
St. Matthew, the Spaniards called the River May 
the St. Mattheo. Both of these names, however, 
have given place to the St. .John's. After this 
dreadful tragedy was over, the bloodstained mur- 
derers, in solemn mockery, engaged in religious 
services. With Romish rites, they planted a cross 
upon the spot, still wet with the blood of the wor- 
shippers of the Crucified, observed the idolatrous 
service of the mass, and even designated a place 
where these cruelties had been enacted, for a 
church, to the honor of Him who, both by example 
and precept, has taught us to pray for our enemies, 
and bless those who despitefully use us. 

It was not long before the shipwrecked men of 
Ribault's fleet were discovered. Having, by their 
misfortunes, lost all their food and water, and 
having endured great suflfering and fatigue, they 
were reduced to extreme helplessness. The vic- 
torious Spaniard invited them to confide in his 
4* 



42 MASSACRE AT ST. AUGUSTINE. 

clemency. It was the tiger offering compassion to 
the helpless lamb, for whose blood it was thirsting. 
Yet what could these famishing mariners do ? 
Being without ships, they could not escape ; being 
without stores, they could not survive. As the 
proffered mercy of their enemies afforded them 
their only gleam of hope, they delivered themselves 
into their hands. No sooner did Melendez find 
himself in possession of these hapless mariners, 
than he bound their arms behind them, and obliged 
them, in that condition, to march to St. Augustine. 
As these manacled captives approached the fort 
which Melendez had there erected, not knowing 
the fate which awaited them, a fatal signal was 
given, when the nefarious Spaniards pounced upon 
their defenceless prisoners, and slew them without 
mercy, their agonizing shrieks being drowned by 
the soimd of trumpets and the roll of drums. A 
few among them, who were Catholics, were spared, 
as Melendez had said. Some mechanics, also, who 
were qualified to render useful services to the 
Spaniards, escaped the common doom, and were 
reduced to slavery among them. All the others 
were ruthlessly slain. As a slight extenuation of 
his cruelty, Melendez stated that he killed them 
" not as Frenchmen, but as Lutherans." He jus- 
tified it not on national, but religious grounds. 
The whole number who perished in these two 



SUPPLICATION TO THE KING. 43 

massacres is said by the French to have been 
nearly a thousand. 

The widows and children of those who were 
slain by Melendez, in Florida, addressed a pathetic 
supplication to the French throne. But as the 
French court at that time were in sympathy with 
the Roman Catholic church, they made no response 
to the appeal. They neither granted relief to the 
bereaved, nor avenged the death of the slain. It is 
not always the case that a nation harmonize in 
their views and feelings with the court. In reli- 
gious opinions and in measures of state policy they 
may widely differ. In the present case, many of 
the French people were deeply grieved for those 
whose friends had perished through the cruelty of 
Melendez. Among them was Dominic de Gourgues, 
who, among various other adventures as a soldier, 
had been taken prisoner by the Spaniards. Being 
glad of any pretence to engage in conflict with his 
old enemies, and revenge himself for injuries re- 
ceived, Gourgues offered his services in the present 
case. By combining his own pecuniary resources 
with the contributions furnished him by his friends, 
he succeeded in fitting out three ships, with a com- 
plement of a hundred and fifty men. With these 
he set sail for America, in search of those who had, 
with such savage cruelty, destroyed the French set- 
tlement on the River May. He directed his course 



44 GOURGUES SEEKS REVENGE. 

to Fort Carolina, where he found the Spaniards 
occupying the place of the colony which they had 
overthrown. Two forts had been erected near the 
mouth of the river. These he attacked, and suc- 
ceeded in taking the more important of them, with 
a number of prisoners ; but finding it difficult to 
retain his position, he concluded to abandon it. 
Previous to this, it became necessary to decide upon 
the fate of the prisoners. Shall they be liberated ? 
shall they be carried captives to France ? or shall 
they be slain ? Gourgues was not long in coming 
to a decision. He had crossed the Atlantic for pur- 
poses of revenge, and was determined not to be 
disappointed. Besides, as the Spaniards, in the 
previous massacres, had insultingly declared that 
they slew their enemies " not as Frenchmen, but as 
Lutherans," Gourgues was determined to retaliate 
in the same manner. The prisoners were doomed 
to death, but were not to be honored with mil- 
itary execution by powder and ball. They were 
sentenced to be hung. The trees furnished a con- 
venient gallows. On their branches the wretched 
Spaniards were hanged, with the inscription of 
Gourgues over them : " I do this, not as to Span- 
iards or seamen, but as to robbers, traitors, and 
murderers." He then hastily embarked on board 
his vessels, and returned to France. The French 
government made no effort to follow up his success. 



A GREAT LOSS. 45 

nor replant a colony in Florida. Indeed, it repu- 
diated all pretension to the country. It voluntarily 
relinquished all claim, to the Spaniards, who eagerly 
seized it as a part of their dominion, to which they 
were fairly entitled by the right of discovery. If 
France had pursued an opposite course, — if she 
had settled colonies here, and strengthened them to 
sustain their position, — she would have been able to 
divide the country with Spain, and, in a few years, 
would have found herself in possession of a vast 
and important empire. Her government failed to 
appreciate the value of the possessions which were 
within reach. In consequence of their want of 
foresight, their imbecility, and their unwillingness to 
give offence to a neighboring Catholic power, the 
French allowed the vast and promising domain of 
Florida to slip from their possession into the hands 
of Spain. 



CHAPTER lY. 

Catholic Priests. — Augustin Ruyz. — New Mexico explored. — 
Sir Humphrey Gilbert. — Visits Newfoundlancl. — Supposed 
Discovery of Silver. — Secret mining Operations. — A Vessel, 
lost. — Severe Weather. — Sir Humphrey lost in the Squir- 
rel. — Sir Walter Raleig'h. — His Perseverance. — Wococon. — 
Interviews with the Natives. — Granganimeo. — His Court Et- 
iquette. — Visit of Ceremony. — His Wife. — Their Dresses. — 
The Chief's Monopoly. 

Amongst the earliest explorers of this country, 
none exhibited more hardihood, patience, self-denial, 
and perseverance than the Catholic ecclesiastics. 
Sometimes in company with bands of settlers, and 
sometimes alone, they penetrated into the interior, 
and exposed themselves to the diseases of climates 
to which they were unaccustomed — to the perils of 
pathless woods, impassable mountains, wild beasts,' 
and savage men. 

Notwithstanding our aversion to the dogmas, the 
superstition, and the persecuting bigotry of the 
Catholic church, we are not disposed to withhold 
our meed of praise from those of her priests, who, 
believing that the uncivilized inhabitants of this 
newly-discovered world were hastening on to the 
regions of eternal night, cherished a sincere desire 
to instruct them in the principles of what they 
believed to be the true religion, and thus to save 



AUGUSTIN RUYZ. 47 

their souls from death. Their examples of zeal, 
patience, and self-sacrifice are worthy of the im- 
itation of those who arrogate to themselves a better 
faith. 

In 1580, about sixteen years after the settlement 
of St. Augustine, a Franciscan friar by the name of 
Augustin Ruyz, having caught the same missionary 
spirit by which other Spanish ecclesiastics were at 
that time moved, formed the bold design of pen- 
etrating far into the interior of the American con- 
tinent, that he might teach the benighted Indians 
the way of life. Leaving Santa Barbara, in Mex- 
ico, he, in company with two or three others, 
plunged into the unexplored regions of the north, 
until he reached the Rio Grande River, which he 
followed to its upper branches. The next year, 
Antonio de Espejio followed him. The explorations 
were finished. The country received the name of 
New Mexico ; and there, in the midst of a moun- 
tainous region, near one of the branches of the 
Rio Grande, was founded Santa Fe, the second 
town in the United States. 

Although the continent of North America had 
been discovered by the English many years before 
it was visited by the Spaniards or the French, (the 
Cabots having seen it in 1497,) yet no colonies had 
been formed, nor any vigorous measures adopted by 
the English government to enter upon its possession. 



48 ENGLISH GRANTS. 

It was not until 1578 that the Ensjlish court were 
aroused to the importance of effort for securing 
some permanent benefit from their splendid dis- 
covery. At this time, letters patent were granted 
to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, conferring upon him very 
liberal privileges, in case he established a colony 
within six years. After he collected a company, he 
met with perplexing disappointments and provoking 
delays before he could put to sea. After setting 
sail, he unfortunately met with several disasters. 
He first fell in with a Spanish fleet, with which he 
had an unsuccessful engagement. He was next 
overtaken by a violent storm, which destroyed one 
of his vessels, so that he was compelled to return. 

Being too poor to fit out another enterprise, 
Gilbert was obliged to content himself, for several 
years, by making grants to other parties, of lands 
for them to colonize. These grants, however, pro- 
duced no permanent results, as the parties receiving 
them were unable to establish settlements. 

The time which was allotted to Gilbert, by his 
patent, to found a colony in the new world, was 
rapidly drawing to a close, without any thing being 
accomplished. He was determined to make one 
effort more prior to its complete expiration. With 
the assistance of others, he fitted out three ships, 
set sail, and arrived at Newfoundland, where, in 
the harbor of St. John's, he found nearly forty 



SIR HIBIPHREY GILBERT. 49 

vessels, of varrous nations. In the presence of 
their crews he took formal possession of that large 
island in the name of her majesty, Queen Elizabeth 
of England. The country was examined, and the 
explorers thought they discovered silver ore. They 
were ordered to lock the secret in their own breasts. 
Not being willing to leave all these priceless treas- 
ures behind them, quantities of the ore were con- 
veyed on board one of their vessels, but in so secret 
a manner that the crews of the other vessels in the 
harbor had no suspicion of what was in progress. 
After this, Gilbert, with his fleet, coasted south. 
His mariners proved to be a set of dissatisfied, 
thievish, and piratical fellows, disposed to molest 
and rob every vessel that they dared to attack. It 
was not long before the largest of the fleet, through 
the inexcusable neglect of those on board, was 
wrecked, with the loss of all the ore, and about a 
hundred men. After this mournful event, Gilbert 
hastened his return to England with his only two 
remaining vessels — the Squirrel and the Hind. 
He was in the former, which was a very small 
frigate, of only ten tons, and unfit to navigate tem- 
pestuous oceans. On their return, they experienced 
severe weather. The wind blew violently, and the 
waves rolled like mountains capped with snow. 
The vessels were in imminent peril ; yet they kept 
as near together as was compatible with safety. 
5 



50 THE SQUIRREL FOUNDERED. 

At one time, when they were within speaking dis- 
tance, the commander, who was sitting in the stern 
of the Squirrel, called out to those in the Hind, 
" We are as near to heaven by sea as by land." 
The same midnight, the Squirrel was ingulfed in 
the mighty waters, and neither vessel nor crew was 
ever heard of again. 

Thus unsuccessful was the termination of Sir 
Humphrey Gilbert's efforts to establish colonies in 
America. 

The next adventurer who appeared upon the 
stage, and attempted to try his fortunes in the new 
world, was the celebrated Sir Walter Raleigh, a 
half brother to Sir Humphrey Gilbert. He had 
been so far interested in the enterprise of Sir 
Humphrey, as to furnish and fit out, at his own 
expense, the largest vessel of his fleet ; and some 
say that Raleigh entered upon the expedition him- 
self, and commanded his own ship in person. In a 
few days, however, the vessel was obliged to put 
back, in consequence, as was pretended, of a dan- 
gerous and contagious sickness among her company. 
Sir Walter was a man of great perseverance, and 
was not to be disheartened by the unfortunate re- 
turn of his vessel, nor the sad fate of his half 
brother. Having received liberal patents from 
Queen Elizabeth of England, and having induced 
others to unite with him in the enterprise, Raleigh 



ISLAND OF WOCOCON. 51 

fitted out two small vessels, wliich lie placed under 
the command of Captains Philip Amidas and Arthur 
Barlow. 

On the 27th of April, 1584, these two vessels left 
the Thames, in England, and after the usual cir- 
cuitous course generally pursued in those days, 
touching at the Canaries and the West Indies, they 
arrived on the 2d of July upon the coast of North 
Carolina, then called, as was the whole country, 
Florida. After sailing a hundred and twenty miles 
along the coast, they entered an inlet, and landed 
upon the Island of Wococon, which separates Pam- 
lico Sound from the Atlantic, where religious ser- 
vices were performed, and the country taken pos- 
session of in the name of Queen Elizabeth. This 
being over, they entered upon an examination of 
the place. They found that the spot where they 
landed was low and sandy, " but so full of grapes 
that the very surge of the sea sometimes overflowed 
them ; of which they found such plenty in all 
places, both on the sand, the greene soyle, and hils, 
as in the plaines as well as on euery little shrub, as 
also climbing towardes the tops of high cedars, that 
they did thinke in the world were not the like 
abundance." They soon discovered that what they 
had supposed was the main land was only an island, 
about twenty miles long and six broad. Upon 
discharging their muskets, such an immense number 



52 AN INDIAN ADDRESS. 

of snow-white cranes arose from their concealment, 
that the noise of their cries was " as if an army of 
men had shouted altogether." They fomid that the 
island was well wooded with various kinds of fra- 
grant and useful trees, among which were cypress, 
sassafras, the lentisk, or " the tree that beareth 
mastic, and the tree that beareth the rine of 
blacke sinamon." They remained near this beau- 
tifully wooded island two days, without seeing 
any of the inhabitants ; but on the third day, 
a canoe glided from the shore, containing three 
half-naked, swarthy savages, who landed on the 
island, " foure harquebuz-shot from our shippes," 
two of whom remained with the canoe, as if to 
guard it, whilst the third came down on a point of 
land nearer to the vessels, and walked to and fro, 
as if to attract attention. Some of the officers of 
the ships immediately put off for the shore, as they 
desired to open communications with the natives, 
and obtain all the information in their power. The 
Indian saw their approach towards him, but without 
exhibiting the least fear, he raised his voice as soon 
as they arrived within hearing distance, and deliv- 
ered a long harangue, not one word of which could 
they understand. As the English manifested to- 
wards him a friendly spirit, he did not retreat from 
their superior numbers, but at their invitation vol- 
untarily accompanied them on board the ships. 



CEREMONIAL VISIT. 53 

After exhibiting to him all parts of the vessel, they 
treated him to wine and meat, which he seemed 
greatly to relish. They also gave him a hat, shirt, 
and several other articles, after which he left them 
and returned to his canoe. It seems that this tawny 
son of the desert felt grateful for the kindness he 
had received, and was desirous of giving some ex- 
pression to his feelings. He therefore paddled a 
short distance from the island, and commenced 
fishing. In the space of half an hour, he caught 
as many as his canoe would hold, and then, return- 
ing to the point of land which was nearest to the 
vessels, and where he was previously seen walking 
to and fro, he divided his fish in two piles, and 
then, by signs, indicated that he gave them to the 
two vessels, and departed. 

The next day, the English were honored with 
visitors of great distinction, who approached them 
with no little ceremony. A number of canoes 
were seen gliding over the water, filled with men, 
who disembarked upon the island, placed all their 
canoes together, and then came down on the shore 
opposite the ships. They were closely observed by 
those on board, who soon discovered that one 
among them was some honored personage ; for, as 
he walked along, they noticed that he was followed 
by forty or fifty others ; and when he arrived at 
the place over against the ships, where he doubtless 
5* 



54 GRANGANIMEO'S WELCOME. 

expected to have an interview with these white 
strangers, his attendants spread a long mat upon 
the ground, on one end of which he took his seat 
in Indian style, and on the other end four others, 
who were persons of some distinction, seated them- 
selves. The rest of his men were arranged around 
him, at a respectful distance, as a kind of body 
guard. 

Some of the English left the vessels in a small 
boat, and approached towards them with weapons, 
but without exciting any fears. When they arrived 
where the Indians were, he who appeared to be the 
chief among them, and whose name was Grangan- 
imeo, invited them by signs to take a seat on the 
mat near himself, which they did ; " and being set, 
hee made all signes of ioy and welcome, striking 
on his head and breast, and afterwards on ours, to 
shew we were all one, smiling and making shewe 
the best he could of all loue and familiaritie. After 
he had made a long speech unto vs, wee presented 
him with diners things, which hee received very ioy- 
fuUy and thankefully. None of the company durst 
speake one worde all the time ; only the foure 
which were at the other ende, spake one in the 
others eare very softly." * The king, whose name 
was Wingina, was not present at this interview, 

* Hakluyt's Collection of Voyages. 



INDIAN TASTES. 55 

being detained at home in consequence of wounds 
which he had received in a battle with the king of 
the adjoining country. The country over which 
Wingina reigned was called Wingandacoa. In 
addition to the donations given to Granganimeo, 
they gave several to the four individuals who sat 
on the other end of the mat ; but in a few min- 
utes the chief arose, took all these additional gifts, 
and appropriated them to himself, informing the 
English, as well as he was able, that all things must 
be given to him, as the other Indians were merely 
his followers and servants. 

A few days after this, they had another interview 
with this chief, when they engaged in some trading 
operations for skins. Of all things they exhibited, 
that with which he was the most pleased was a 
bright tin dish. He seized it, held it up, examined 
it, placed it over his heart, as if it were a breast- 
plate, and afterwards made a hole through the edge 
of it, and suspended it from his neck, at the same 
time signifying that it would ward off the arrows 
of his enemies. So highly did he prize this, that 
he gave for it twenty skins, worth twenty crowns. 
For a copper kettle he gave fifty skins, worth fifty 
crowns. They gave what to us seems a high price 
for these articles. But we must remember that to 
them these utensils were great rarities, and might 
be used for important purposes. They also offered 



56 THE CHIEF AND HIS WIFE. 

good exchange for hatchets, axes, knives, and would 
have given any thing in their possession for swords; 
but with these the Enghsh would not part. 

A few days subsequent to this, they succeeded in 
inducing Granganimeo to go on board the ships, 
where he had an opportunity of inspecting the 
wonders of these strange floating houses. He was 
received with the accustomed hospitality of the 
English, and furnished with wine, meat, &c., which 
he relished exceedingly, and with which he became 
very merry. He also brought his wife,, daughter, 
and two or three children on board. His wife was 
small, good looking, but very bashful. Over her 
back was thrown a skin dressed with the fur on. 
She wore it with the fur side next to her person. 
In front was another of the same kind. Her fore- 
head was ornamented with a band of white coral. 
From her ears a chain of pearls as large as peas 
was suspended, which reached half way to the 
ground. Other women of the tribe had copper 
ornaments dangling from their ears. Some of the 
children of Granganimeo and some of the chiefs 
had five or six in each ear. Upon his own head 
be wore a broad plate of yellow metal ; but 
whether it was gold or copper, the English could 
not tell, as it was unpolished, and he would not 
remove it from his head for their examination. It 
was adjusted in such a manner upon his head, 



INDIAN ETIQUETTE. 57 

that by " feeling it, it would bow very easily." His 
dress was of skins, and worn very much in the 
same manner as his wife's. The women wore their 
hair long on both sides, and the men but on one. 
It is generally supposed that the hair of the Amer- 
ican Indians is uniformly black ; but in the account 
of this visit by one of the party, it is stated of 
them, " They are of a color yellowish, and their 
haire black, for the most part ; and yet we saw 
children that had very fine aburne and chesnut- 
colored haire." 

After this, large numbers of the natives came 
from all parts of the surrounding country, bringing 
with them leather, coral, and dye-stuffs, for pur- 
poses of trade. Yet such was the peculiar etiquette 
observed among them, that when Granganimeo was 
present, he monopolized the whole trade himself. 
None of his men were allowed to barter in his 
presence " except such as wear red pieces of copper 
on their heads, like himself; for that is the differ- 
ence between the noblemen and governors of coun- 
tries, and the meaner sort." 



CHAPTER V. 

Indian Prudence. — Method of making Canoes. — Character of 
Granganimeo. — Visit to Roanoke. — Indian Hospitality. — Fe- 
male Kindness. — Character and Habits of the Natives. — Eng- 
lish Timidity. — Gratitude. — Shipwrecked white Men. — Their 
fatal Adventure. — Wonder of the Natives. — Their Weapons 
and Modes of Warfare. — The Secotanites. — A great Feast. — 
A dreadful Slaughter. — The English Captain's Return Home. — 
They take with them two Indians. 

It was usual for Granganimeo, whenever he visited 
the English, to kindle as many fires on the shore, at 
a good distance from the vessels, as equalled the 
number of canoes with which he intended to make 
his approach, so that those on board might know in 
what strength he was about to visit them. These 
canoes " are made of one tree, either of pine or 
pitch trees ; a wood not commonly known to our 
people, nor found growing in England." So says the 
account. " They have no edge tools to make them 
witlial : if they have any, they are very few, and 
those, it seems, they had twenty years since, which 
was out of a wreck which happened upon their 
coast, of some Christian ship being beaten that way 
by some storm and outrageous weather, whereof 
none of the people were saved, but only the ship, 
or some part of her being cast upon the sand, out 



CANOE MAKING. 



59 



of whose sides they drew the nails and the spikes, 
and with those they made their best instruments. 
The manner of making their boats is this : They 
burn down some great tree, or take such as are 
windfallen, and putting gum and rosin upon one 
side thereof, they set fire iuto it, and when it hath 
burnt it hollow, they cut out the coal with tlicir 




3 \{\M'^^ 




Making a Canoe. 



shells ; and ever where they would burn it deeper or 
wider, they lay on gums, which burn away the tim- 
ber ; and by this means they fashion very fine boats, 
and such as will transport twenty men. Their oars 
are like scoops, and many times they set with long 
poles, as the depth serveth." 



60 VISIT TO ROANOKE. 

When the wife of Granganimeo visited them, 
which she did many times, she was accompanied by 
forty or fifty women ; all of whom, with two or 
three exceptions, she made remain on the shore 
whilst she went on board the vessel. 

Granganiraeo was a fine specimen of a chief. 
He was faithful to his promises ; for many times the 
English let him have articles of merchandise on 
credit to take away, but always, when the day on 
which he promised to pay for them arrived, he was 
on hand, ready to keep his word. Every day he 
sent them a brace of fat bucks, conies, hares, and 
fish. He also furnished them with various kinds of 
fruits, such as melons, cucumbers, gourds, walnuts, 
peas, and different kinds of roots, which were very 
palatable to the taste. The soil was extremely fer- 
tile. Peas which the English planted were, in ten 
days, fourteen inches high. Beans of various col- 
ors, with wheat, oats, and corn, abounded among 
them. 

After the Indians had been aboard the vessels a 
number of times, it was considered desirable to re- 
turn their visits. Accordingly, the captain of one 
of the vessels and seven of the men went up a river, 
which the Indians called Occam, and which is be- 
lieved to be Pamlico Sound, until they reached an 
island, then as now called Roanoke. On the north 
end of this island they found a village of nine houses, 



INDIAN HOSPITALITY. 61 

built of cedar, and fortified with a stockade of trees, 
as a protection against enemies. The entrance to 
it was made hke a turnpike, very artificially. As 
the English approached it, the wife of Granganimeo, 
the king's brother, came running out to meet them 
in the most cheerful and friendly manner. Her 
husband was then absent. The account of this visit, 
as given by the parties, is so interesting that we 
shall use their own language in describing it. " Some 
of her people she commanded to draw our boat on 
the shore for the beating of the billow ; others she 
appointed to carry us on their backs to the dry 
ground, and others to bring our oars into the house 
for fear of stealing. When we were come into the 
utter room, having five rooms in her house, she 
caused us to sit down by a great fire, and after took 
off our clothes, and washed them and dried them 
again. Some of the women plucked off our stock- 
ings, and washed them ; some washed our feet in 
warm water ; and she herself took great pains to see 
all things ordered in the best manner she could, 
making great haste to dress some meat for us to eat. 
*' After we had thus dried ourselves, she brought 
us into the inner room, where she set on the board 
standing along the house some wheat-like furmentie, 
sodden venison, and roasted, fish sodden, boiled and 
roasted ; melons, raw and sodden, roots of divers 
kinds, and divers fruits. Their drink is commonly 
6 



62 INDIAN CHARACTER. 

water, but while the grape lasteth they drink wine, 
and for want of casks to keep it, all the year after 
they drink water, but it is sodden with ginger in it, 
and black cinnamon, and sometimes sassafras and 
divers others wholesome and medicinalle herbs and 
trees. We were entertained with all love and kind- 
ness, and with as much bounty, after their manner, 
as they could possibly devise. We found the people 
most gentle, loving, and faithful, void of all guile 
and treason, and such as live after the manner of 
the golden age. The people only care how to de- 
fend themselves from the cold in their short winter, 
and to feed themselves with such meat as the soil 
affordeth. Their meat is very well sodden, and they 
make broth very sweet and savory. Their vessels 
are earthen pots, very large, white, and sweet ; their 
dishes are wooden platters of sweet timber. Within 
the place where they feed was their lodging, and 
within that their idol, which they worship, of whom 
they speak incredible things. While we were at 
meat there came in at the gates two or three men 
with their bows and arrows from hunting, whom 
when we espied, we began to look one towards 
another, and offered to reach our weapons ; but as 
soon as she espied our mistrust, she was very much 
moved, and caused some of her men to run out and 
take away their bows and arrows and break them, 
and withal beat the poor fellows out of the gate 



ENGLISH PRUDENCE. 63 

again. When we departed in the evening, and would 
not tarry all night, she was very sorry, and gave us 
into our boat our supper half dressed, pots and all, 
and brought us to our boat side, in which we lay 
all night, removing the same a pretty distance from 
the shore. She, perceiving our jealousy, was much 
grieved, and sent divers men and thirty women to 
sit all night on the bank side by us, and sent us into 
our boats five mats to cover us from the rain, using 
very many words to entreat us to rest in their houses ; 
but because we were few, and if we had miscarried, 
the voyage had been in very great danger, we durst 
not adventure any thing, although there was no cause 
of doubt ; for a more kind and loving people there 
cannot be found in the world, as far as we have 
hitherto had trial." 

This Indian squaw had herself, as we have seen, 
been on board the vessels of the English, where both 
she and her husband had been treated with kindness. 
She seems to have been impelled by a sense of grat- 
itude to reciprocate their kindness, and was grieved 
that her visitors did not have as much confidence in 
her friendliness as she and her distinguished husband 
had manifested in theirs. Her hospitality seems to 
have been munificent, and nothing was left undone 
which was necessary for the safety or the comfort 
of her guests. 

On this visit the English gained some vague in- 



64 A HAREBRAINED ADVENTURE. 

formation respecting other white persons who had 
visited this coast. They were informed that four 
days' journey to the south-west was a city called 
Secotan, and that twenty-six years before, a ship was 
there cast away, some of the crew of which were 
white, and were successful in escaping from the 
wreck. After remaining three weeks upon an unin- 
habited island, they, with the assistance of some of 
the inhabitants of Secotan who had found them out, 
fastened two Indian canoes together, erected masts, 
took off their shirts and converted them into sails, 
and then boldly put out to sea. It was a hare- 
brained adventure, and none but men on the verge 
of desperation would have engaged in it. A few 
days after, their crazy vessel was found cast ashore 
upon another island, from which it was evident that 
they had been cast away. These individuals were 
seen only by the inhabitants of Secotan. Yet when 
they saw these others, the account states, " they 
wondered marvellously at the whiteness of our skins, 
even coveting to touch our breasts, and to view the 
same. Besides, they had our ships in marvellous 
admiration, and all things else were so strange unto 
them, as it appeared that none of them had ever seen 
the like. When we discharged any piece, were it 
but an arquebus, they would tremble thereat for very 
fear, and for the strangeness of the same ; for the 
weapons which themselves use are bows and arrows. 



INDIAN CUSTOMS. 65 

The arrows are bits of small canes, headed with a 
sharp shell, or tooth of a fish, sufficient enough to 
kill a naked man. Their swords be of wood hard- 
ened ; likewise they use wooden breastplates for their 
defence. They have beside a kind of club, in the 
end whereof they fasten the sharp horns of a stag 
or other beast. When they go to wars, they carry 
about with them their idol, of whom they ask coun- 
sel, as the Romans were wont of the oracle of Apollo. 
They sing songs as they march towards the battle, 
instead of drums and trumpets; their wars are very 
cruel and bloody, by reason whereof, and of their 
civil dissensions, which have happened of late years 
among them, the people are marvellously wasted, 
and in some places the country left desolate." 

Adjoining the Secotanites was a tribe of Indians, 
the name of whose king was Piamacum, between 
whom and the people of Secotan there had been 
violent and sanguinary wars. Although peace had 
been arranged between them, yet there were acts of 
perfidy which the Secotanites could not forget, and 
which they were anxious to avenge. On one occa- 
sion, a great feast was appointed, to which many men 
and women of the other tribe were invited, and when 
they were all together, indulging in promiscuous mer- 
riment, and worshipping their idol without the least 
fear of being betrayed, the chief of the town where 
the feast was held came suddenly upon them with a 
6* 



66 FATAL FEAST. 

band of his deceitful warriors, and slew every one of 
the men. The women and children he preserved, 
perhaps to reduce them to bondage, as that was 
commonly the way in which they disposed of their 
prisoners. 

After Captains Amidas and Barlow had made all 
the examination and obtained all the information in 
their power, they sailed for England, where they 
arrived about the middle of September. They took 
with them to England two of the natives, whose 
names were Wanchese and Manteo. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Glowing Accounts of the new Countries. — Origin of the Name 
Virginia. — Sir Walter Raleigh's Privileges. — Greenville's Ex- 
pedition. — Touch at Porto Rico. — False Promises. — Fiery 
Retaliation. — Banquets. — Bull Hunt. — Bargaining. — Dan- 
gerous Sport. — Fine Fishing. — A Message to Wingina. — 
Exploring Expedition. — The stolen Cup. — Severe Revenge. — 
Granganimeo's last Visit. — Greenville returns. — Comparative 
Dates. 

When Captains Amidas and Barlow returned to 
England, they gave such glowing and exaggerated 
accounts of the beauty of the country, the fertility 
of the soil, and the gentle disposition of the natives, 
as greatly pleased the English, and induced Queen 
Elizabeth, in commemoration of her own unmarried 
state, " or as some have been pleased to gloss and 
interpret it, because it still seemed to retain the 
virgin purity and plenty of the first creation, and the 
people their primitive innocency of life and man- 
ners," to call it Virginia. 

Soon after their return. Sir Walter Raleigh was 
elected to Parliament, and received also the honor 
of knighthood. His patent for prosecuting discov- 
eries in foreign lands was confirmed, and that he 
might have an enlarged income to assist in defraying 
the expenses of his colonial enterprises, there was 
granted to him the monopoly of trade in sweet wines, 



68 



A NEW EXPEDITION. 



from which it was expected he would receive a hand- 
some revenue. 

Encouraged by the flattering reports of his re- 
turned officers, Raleigh lost no time in making ar- 
rangements for another expedition. This beautiful 




Portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh. 

paradise which had been discovered, where, from the 
accounts of its visitors, it seemed as though earth 
and sea, atmosphere and sun, its inhabitants and its 
natural productions, had all combined to render it 
the most delightful residence in the world, was to 
be colonized immediately. 



ARRIVAL AT PORTO RICO. 69 

The new expedition consisted of seven vessels and 
one hundred and eight colonists, under the com- 
mand of Sir Richard Greenville. Upon their arrival 
on the shores of the new world, the colony was to 
be governed by Mr. Ralph Lane. Among other 
distinguished persons who went out with this com- 
pany was a skilful artist, by the name of With, who 
had been employed to make sketches of the personal 
appearance and the singular customs of the natives. 

On the 9th day of April, 1585, the expedition set 
sail from Plymouth, in England. On the r2th of 
May, they reached the Island of St. John, of Porto 
Rico.* They here spent a number of days in build- 
ing a pinnace, the timber for which they had to 
draw three miles. The island belonged to the Span- 
iards, who were not on friendly terms with the Eng- 
lish. A number of them made their appearance on 
various occasions, but did not dare to attack these 
unwelcome visitors. On the 23d of May, they fin- 
ished and launched their pinnace. The Spaniards, 
in an interview which they had with some of the 
English, having ascertained that they did not intend 
to remain there, but were merely building a small 
vessel with which they would soon all depart, prom- 
ised to furnish them with supplies of food. But 
after waiting some time and not receiving the prom- 

* Greenville, in Hakluyt. 



70 RICH PRIZES. 

ised supplies, the English were indignant, and to 
revenge themselves they set the woods on fire, and 
also the fort where they had built their pinnace. 
This did no good ; it brought no victuals, and in- 
stead of allaying the animosity of the Spaniards, it 
must have greatly increased it. 

Greenville and his company were anxious to leave 
St. Johns, for though the Spaniards did not attack 
them, there was another enemy, of great courage and 
of indomitable perseverance, whose vigilance was ever 
awake, and whose weapons were always ready, and 
from whom retreat or concealment was impossible. 
These were the clouds of bloodthirsty mosquitoes 
which infested the island, and which were a constant 
annoyance to the English. 

They left St. Johns on the 29th, and the same 
night they fell in with a Spanish frigate. As soon 
as the Spaniards saw the English fleet bearing down 
upon them, they took to their small boats and fled, 
leaving their vessel a prey to the enemy. Early the 
next morning they made a prize of another Spanish 
frigate, with rich freight and various Spaniards of 
distinction on board. These latter were afterwards 
ransomed at high rates. On the 30th they arrived 
at the Island of Hispaniola, where they were re- 
ceived with great courtesy. They here honored the 
Spaniards with a banquet, who reciprocated it with 
a bull hunt. The account of that interview, as given 



COURTESIES BETWEEN ENEMIES. 71 

in the journal of the voyage, is as follows : " The 
5th of June, the governor of Isabella, (a town on 
the north side of Hispaniola,) accompanied with a 
lustie friar and twenty other Spaniards, with their 
servants and negroes, came down to the seaside, 
where our ships rode at anchor, who being seen, 
our general manned immediately the most part of 
his boats with the chief men of our fleet, every man 
appointed and furnished in the best sort. At tlie 
landing of our general, the Spanish governor re- 
ceived him very courteously, and the Spanish gen- 
tlemen saluted our Enghsh gentlemen, and their 
inferior sort did also salute our soldiers and seamen, 
liking our men and likewise their qualities, although 
at the first they seemed to stand in fear of us, and of 
so many of our boats, whereof tliey desired that all 
might not land their men ; yet in the end the cour- 
tesies which passed on both sides were so great that 
all fear and mistrust on the Spaniards' part was 
abandoned. 

" In the mean time, while our English general and 
the Spanish governor discoursed betwixt them of 
divers matters, as of the state of the country, the 
multitude of the towns and people, and the com- 
modities of the island, our men provided two ban- 
queting houses, covered with green boughs, the one 
for the gentlemen, the other for the servants ; and a 
sumptuous banquet was brought in, served by us all 



7^ 



SPANISH BULL HUNT. 



ill plate, with the sound of trumpets and concert of 
music, wherewith the Spaniards were more than 
dehghted. Which banquet being ended, the Span- 
iards, in recompence of our courtesie, caused a great 
herd of white bulls and kine to be brought together 
from the mountains, and appointed for every gentle- 




EUM-SMITH 



Spanish Bull Hunt. 



man and captain that would ride, a horse ready 
saddled, and then singled out three of the best of 
them, to be hunted by horsemen after their manner, 
so that the pastime grew very pleasant for the space 
of three hours, wherein all three of the beasts were 
killed, whereof one took the sea, and there was slain 



FRIENDLY RELATIONS. 73 

with a musket. After this sport, many rare pres- 
ents and gifts were given and bestowed on both 
parts ; and the next day we played the merchants in 
bargaining with them by way of truck and exchange 
of divers of their commodities, as horses, mares, kine, 
bulls, goats, swine, sheep, bull hides, sugar, ginger, 
pearl, tobacco, and such like commodities of the 
island." 

The courtesy of the Spanish on this occasion was, 
by the English, attributed to fear rather than to 
kindness. 

The banquet, bull hunt, and bartering having ter- 
minated to the mutual satisfaction of the parties, on 
.Tune 7th the English fleet bade farewell to their 
friendly foes, and went to sea. The next day they 
arrived at a small island, which they had been in- 
formed was a place of great resort for seals. As 
the general desired to enjoy the sport of taking 
some, the fleet came to anchor, and he, with a num- 
ber of others, went in the pinnace in pursuit of them. 
The chase like to have had a fatal termination for 
the whole party, as the pinnace came very near 
being wrecked. But by divine interposition they 
finally escaped, and reached their vessel in safety. 
On the 20th they arrived upon the coast of Florida, 
and three days after they narrowly escaped wrecking 
on a point which, in consequence of its dangerous 
character, was called Cape Fear. The next day 
7 



74 THEFT AND ITS PUNISHMENT. 

they anchored in a harbor, and in one tide they 
caught as many fish as would, in London market, 
have sold for a hundred dollars. On the 26th they 
came to anchor at Wococon. From here they sent 
word to Wingina, of Roanoke, of their arrival. On 
the 6th of July, Mr. John Arundel was sent to the 
main land, accompanied by Manteo, one of the sav- 
ages who had been taken to England, and who had 
now returned with them. He proved to be very 
useful to the English all the time that they remained 
there. On the same day. Captains Aubrey and Bon- 
iten were sent to Croatan, an Indian town, where 
they found thirty or more of their men, who had 
been left there a number of days before. On the 
11th of July, the general, accompanied by quite a 
large party of the English, set out on an exploring 
expedition, with the tilt boat, the pinnac€i, and two 
ship boats laden with a stock of provisions sufficient 
to last eight days. They directed their course towards 
the main land, and during their absence they discov- 
ered the towns of Pomeiok, Aquascogok, Secotan, and 
a great lake called Paquique. At Aquascogok a sil- 
ver cup was stolen from them by an Indian, which 
so offended the English, that, in revenge for the 
larceny, they burned down the town and destroyed 
all their corn. This destruction of the homes and 
the food of the Indians, for so trifling an offence, 
many of whom had no hand in it, only served to 



Greenville's return. 75 

exasperate them, and to convert them into more de- 
termined and implacable foes. It was seed from 
which in future the English were to reap bitter fruit. 
On the 18th of July they returned from their 
expedition to the fleet, which was still riding at 
Wococon, and two days after they set sail for Ha- 
torask, where they arrived on the 27th. On the 
29th they received their last visit from the generous 
and honorable Granganimeo, as, shortly after, he 
died. He had proved himself to be a sincere friend 
of the English. On the 25th of August, General 
Greenville set sail on his return to England, leaving 
in the new world one hundred and eight persons to 
found a colony. This was in 1585, and as the 
Puritans did not land in Massachusetts Bay till 1620, 
this first attempt of the English at colonizing in 
Virginia occurred thirty-five years before the settle- 
ment of Plymouth. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Explorations. — Description of the Country. — An intelligent Cap- 
tive. — Pearls. — Menatonon. — Two Companies. — Assigna- 
tion. — A marvellous River. — Pemissapan's Treachery. — Con- 
cealment of the Indians. — Critical Situation. — The Governor's 
Policy. — Firmness of the Company. — Dog Porridge. — Ru- 
mors of Gold. — Mining Operations. — Perseverance of the 
Company. — Lane's interesting Account. — Attack by the In- 
dians. — They retreat to the Woods. — The perilous Return. 

The colony which Sir Richard Greenville left in 
the country to undertake the laborious and respon- 
sible work of its settlement, was placed under the 
government of Mr. Ralph Lane, who had accom- 
panied them from England for that purpose. 

After the departure of Greenville, arrangements 
were made by the colonists to enter upon various 
exploring expeditions, in order to ascertain the 
geography and nature of the country, in respect to 
its soil and its mineral, vegetable, and animal pro- 
ductions ; and, also, to form an acquaintance and 
establish friendly relations with the natives. Not 
much, however, was accomplished by these expe- 
ditions. To the southward, they proceeded as far 
as Secotan, an Indian town, which they estimated 
was about eighty miles distant from Roanoke, " in 
the present county of Carver, between the Pamlico 



lane's description of the country. 77 

and the Neuse." They made the passage with 
difficulty, through a broad sound full of dangerous 
flats and shoals, in a boat with four oars, and carry- 
ing fifteen men, with their provisions and baggage. 
To the north, they went as far as to the Ches- 
pians — about a hundred and thirty miles. They 
regarded the expedition as perilous, because the 
water was shallow, the bay wide, and in case any 
accident happened, it would have been very difficult 
to obtain help. Mr. Bancroft fixes the extent of 
their northern exploration at the small river Eliz- 
abeth, which falls into the Chesapeake Bay, just 
below Norfolk. They penetrated into the interior 
some distance beyond the junction of the Meherrin 
and the Nottaway, to Chawanook. In Governor 
Lane's own account of these explorations, he says, 
" The territory and soil of the Chespians (being 
distant fifteen miles from the shore) was for pleas- 
antness of seat, for temperature of climate, for 
fertility of soil, and for the commodity of the sea, 
besides multitude of bears, (being an excellent 
good victual,) with great woods of sassafras and 
walnut trees, is not to be excelled by any other 
whatsoever." 

He states, after mentioning the unpronounceable 
names of several Indian towns which they passed 
oh the rivers, that Chawanook is the largest, and 

capable of sending seven hundred warriors into the 

7 * 



78 AN INTELLIGENT INDIAN. 

field. The king of this province was named Men- 
atonon, " a man impotent in his Umbs, but other- 
wise, for a savage, a very grave and wise man, 
and of a very singular good discourse in matters 
concerning the state, not only of his own country, 
and the disposition of his own men, but also of his 
neighbors round about him, as well far as near, 
and of the commodities that each country yield- 
eth." * The governor took him prisoner, and 
kept him for two days ; and from him he received 
more valuable information than he had derived from 
all the other savages together. Among other things, 
he told him that by going three days* journey up 
his river Chawanook, he would be within four or 
five days' journey of another kingdom, bordering 
upon the sea, but having, as its place of greatest 
strength, an island, situated in a bay, and surround- 
ed by very deep water. From this bay the king 
of that country obtains so great a quantity of pearls, 
that not only are the robes of himself and followers 
abundantly ornamented with them, but also his beds 
and houses, so that it is a curiosity to see him. He 
showed the governor some of these pearls, which he 
had purchased of the king about two years before ; 
and though they were black, he paid a dear price 
for them. Some of these he gave to Governor 

* Lane, in Hakluyt. 



A WEALTHY CHIEF. 79 

Lane, among which were a few very round and 
beautiful. He informed him that the black pearls 
were obtained from the shallow, and the large 
white ones from the deep water of the bay, in 
which was the island before alluded to. This story 
of the wonderful quantity of pearl powerfully ex- 
cited the cupidity of Lane, and he resolved to make 
this wealthy native monarch a visit. He regarded 
it as extremely desirable to form an acquaintance 
with one who possessed in such abundance these 
valuable jewels. It was his opinion that this king 
trafficked with white men who dressed as the Eng- 
lish did ; that for them he saved all his white pearls, 
and for this reason would sell none but black ones 
to Indians. 

Menatonon offered to furnish him with guides, 
but at the same time advised him to take a consid- 
erable number of men, and a good stock of stores, 
as the king whom they would visit was jealous of 
strangers, and very unwilHng for any but his own 
people to fish for pearls. Lane at once resolved, in 
case any supplies reached him from England by the 
end of April, to set out on this important expe- 
dition. His plan was to send some boats by sea to 
discover the bay referred to, and explore it, whilst 
he, with another company of two hundred men, 
would go up the River of Chawanook, accompanied 
by the guides which were promised him. It was 



80 REMOVAL CONTEMPLATED. 

his intention, also, to have kept Menatonon's son a 
prisoner on the journey, in order to secure fideUty 
on the part of the guide. He also arranged to 
provide fortified places on the route, protected by a 
garrison of fifteen or twenty men, which he was to 
leave within them. After reaching the head of the 
river, he would then cross over land to the bay, and 
join the other party, who were to be there waiting 
for him. In case he found a good harbor there, 
which should appear to him preferable to the one 
at Roanoke, he intended to take possession of it, 
and remove there with his whole colony. This 
was to be his plan of operations, in case he re- 
ceived accessions from England ; but after receiving 
other intelligence, so greatly was his anxiety in- 
creased to commence operations, that he resolved 
not to delay. His movements were hastened by 
certain marvellous things which he heard respecting 
a famous river, called by the Indians Moratoc. It 
was said that the origin of this river was at a dis- 
tance of thirty or forty days' travel from Roanoke, 
and that there the water gushed out of a large rock 
in such quantity as to make at once a most violent 
stream. This huge rock was so near to the ocean, 
that in times of storm, when the wind blew in 
from the sea, the resistless rolling billows dashed 
over the intervening land, and mingled with the 
fresh water of the river, rendering it salt and 



A FAMOUS RIVER. 81 

brackish for a considerable distance. Lane was 
anxious to discover this singular river-producing 
rock. The account of it he knew would furnish 
an interesting chapter in the report of his expe- 
ditions, which, as in duty bound, he was to return 
to his employer in England. 

Menatonon, whom he had held in captivity, he 
released for a certain ransom price, and then com- 
menced his exploration of the river. The Moratoc, 
now known as the Roanoke, emptied into the 
Albemarle Sound, then called by the Indians 
Weapomeiok. His plan was to take two double 
wherries, with forty men, and provisions sufficient 
only to last until they reached the Moratocs, or 
Mangoaks, tribes of Indians whom they expected 
to pass on their journey, and ascend the Roanoke, 
if possible, to its mysterious head. This neglect to 
lay in more provisions came near proving fatal to 
the whole party. 

For the king, Wingina, who, upon the death of 
his brother, had changed his name to Pemissapan, 
although he had frequently importuned the English 
to visit the interior tribes of Indians, now that his 
request was about to be complied with, sent word 
to those tribes that the white men were coming to 
destroy them. The consequence was, that, as Lane 
and his company ascended the stream, the Indians, 
instead of meeting them and trading with them as 



83 TREASON AND STRATAGEM. 

they otherwise would have done, fled before them, 
carrying away their corn, and leaving nothing but 
empty wigwams for their visitors. The limited 
stock of provisions which Lane took with him was 
rapidly diminishing. After having proceeded up 
the river for three days, without seeing an. Indian 
or finding a grain of corn, he began to be alarmed. 
Being then a hundred and sixty miles from home, 
knowing that he had victuals for only two days left, 
suspecting treason in his own savages, and appre- 
hensive lest he might meet with violent storms, 
which would impede his return, and perhaps prove 
fatal to some, if not all, of his company, he 
concluded to make known to them their true con- 
dition, and ask their opinion as to the best course 
to pursue. Accordingly, in the evening, before 
appointing the sentinels for the night, he called the 
whole company together, laid before them their 
real situation, informed them of his own suspicions 
that they were betrayed by their own savages, and 
drawn forth into the country to be starved ; and 
that, as they only had two days' provisions on hand, 
it would be best for them to return home, and that, 
in returning, it would be wise to take a different 
route from that by which they had come, so that 
they might visit the fishing " weares of Chympa- 
num," where they might obtain some relief. How- 
ever, after making a full statement, he said he 



COURAGEOUS RESOLUTION. 83 

would submit the whole matter to them for their 
decision, and would abide by the votes of the 
majority whether to return, or to spend all of their 
provisions in surveying that goodly river, with the 
hope that they would have better fortune in meeting 
with the natives, and in finding food. But that 
they might not be hasty in coming to a decision, he 
advised them to think of the subject over night, and 
he would call for their opinion in the morning. 

The decision of the company was, that whilst a 
half a pint of corn per man was left, they would 
not relinquish the examination of the river ; that as 
there were in the company two mastiff dogs, when 
all other food gave out, they could convert them 
into pottage, season it with sassafras, and live upon 
it two days ; that by that time the current of the 
river would carry them to the entrance of the 
sound, over which they might pass in two days 
more, and be relieved by the fish wears ; which 
two days, they said, they would rather fast than be 
drawn back a foot, till they had seen the Indians, 
either as friends or foes. With this resolution 
Governor Lane said he was well pleas6d, and that 
he merely pretended to be of a different opinion out 
of " mistrust of that which afterwards did happen." 

The tribe which they were particularly desirous 
of meeting was called the Mangoaks, who were 
said to traffic up the Roanoke, and who, it was 



84 METHOD OF MINING. 

presumed, could give them valuable information 
respecting a " marvelous and most strange mineral " 
which it produced. The existence of a mine some- 
where on that river was extensively known among 
the neighboring tribes. The country in which it 
was located was called Chaunis Temoatan. 

" They say that they take the said metal out of 
a river that falleth very swift from high rocks and 
hills. The manner is this: They take a great 
bowl, by their description as great as one of our 
targets, and wrap a skin over the hollow part 
thereof, leaving one part open to receive in the 
mineral. That done, they watch the coming down 
of the current, and the change of the color of the 
water, and then suddenly clap down the said bowl 
with the skin, and receive into the same as much 
ore as will come in, which is ever as much as their 
bowl will hold, which presently they cast into a fire, 
and forthwith it melteth, and doth yield in five parts, 
at the first melting, two parts of metal for three 
parts of ore. Of this metal the Mangoaks have so 
great store, by report of all the savages adjoining, 
that they beautify their houses with great plates of 
the same." 

This metal the Indians called wassador, a ge- 
neric name, however, which they applied to metals 
in general. They said it resembled the English 
copper, except that it was paler and softer. It 



A COVETED METAL. 85 

was easy for the excited imaginations of the Eng- 
lish to convert this soft, pale red, or yellow metal 
into gold. Their cupidity being aroused, they were 
the more anxious to have an interview with the 
Mangoaks, and obtain not only more information, 
but specimens of the mysterious mineral, and, if 
possible, be led to the mine. They therefore de- 
termined not to return, but to continue to ascend 
the stream, and persevere in their efforts to obtain 
an interview with the Mangoaks, and, if successful, 
to take some of them prisoners, and use them as 
guides. Manteo, who had made a visit to England, 
and had picked up something of the English lan- 
guage, accompanied them as their interpreter, so 
that, in case they fell in with any of the natives, 
they could have conversation with them. 

The deceitful statements of Pemissapan, that 
their intentions were evil, defeated all their efforts. 
The Indians shunned them as though they believed 
the report, that their object was to destroy them. 

Governor Lane, in the account of this expedition 
which he sent to his employer, - — Sir Walter Ra- 
leigh, — says that he yielded willingly to the de- 
cision of his company to persevere. 

" But it fell out very contrary to all expectation 

and likelihood, for after two days' travel, and our 

whole victual spent, lying on shore all night, we 

could never see man, only fires we might perceive 

8 



86 AN ATTACK. 

made along the shore where we were to pass, and 
up into the country, until the very last day ; in the 
evening whereof, about three of the clock, we 
heard certain savages call, as we thought, Manteo, 
who was also at that time with me in the boat, 
whereof we all being very glad, hoping of some 
friendly conference with them, and making him to 
answer them, they presently began a song, as we 
thought in token of our welcome to them ; but 
Manteo presently betook him to his piece, and told 
me that they meant to fight with us, which word 
was not so soon spoken by him, and the light horse- 
men ready to put to shore, but there lighted a volley 
of their arrows amongst them in the boat, but did no 
hurt (God be thanked) to any man. Immediately, 
the other boat lying ready with their shot to scour 
the place for our hand weapons to land upon, which 
was presently done, although the land was very 
high and steep, the savages forthwith quitted the 
shore, and betook themselves to flight. We landed, 
and, having fair and easily followed for a small 
time after them, who had wooded themselves, we 
know not where. The sun drawing towards the 
setting, and being then assured that the next day, 
if we would pursue them, though we might happen 
to meet with them, yet we should be assured to 
meet with none of their victual, which we then had 
good cause to think of; therefore choosing for the 



DETERMINATION TO RETURN. 87 

company a convenient ground in safety to lodge in 
for the night, making a strong corps of guard, and 
putting out good sentinels, I determined the next 
morning, before the rising of the sun, to be going 
back again, if possibly we might recover the mouth 
of the river, into the broad sound, which at my first 
motion I found my whole company ready to assent 
unto ; for they were now come to their dog's por- 
ridge, that they had bespoken for themselves, if 
that befell them, which did, and I before did mis- 
trust we should hardly escape. The end was, we 
came the next day, by night, to the river's mouth, 
within four or fiive miles of the same, having rowed 
in one day, down the current, as much as in four 
days we had done against the same. We lodged 
upon an island, where we had nothing in the world 
to eat but pottage of sassafras leaves, the like 
whereof for a meat was never used before, as I 
think. The broad sound we had to pass the next 
day all fresh and fasting. That day, the wind 
blew so strongly, and the billow so great, that 
there was no possibility of passage without sink- 
ing of our boats. This was upon Easter eve, 
which was fasted very truly. Upon Easter day, in 
the morning, the wind coming very calm, we en- 
tered the sound, and by four of the clock, we were 
at Chipanum, whence all the savages we had left 



88 ARRIVAL AT ROANOKE. 

there were fled ; but their wears did yield us some 
fish, as God was pleased not utterly to suffer us to 
be lost ; for some of our company of the light 
horsemen were far spent. The next morning we 
arrived at our home, Roanoke." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

New Plots. — The Colony in great Jeopardy. — Indian Funeral 
Customs. — Murders projected. — The Plot revealed. — The 
Watchword. — Pemissapan slain. — The Colony saved. — A 
Fleet. — Painful Suspense. — Relief. — Sir Francis Drake. — 
His Kindness. — Great Storm. — Its Effects. — The Colonists 
disheartened. — Drake takes them on Board. — Character of 
Lane. — Arrival of Supplies, but no Colony. — Their Return. — 
Arrival of Sir Richard Greenville. — His Surprise. — His Re- 
turn. — He leaves fifteen Men. — He destroys Spanish Towns. 

The expedition which was related in the last 
chapter seems to have resulted in no permanent ben- 
efit to the English, except in making them acquainted, 
by painful experience, with the methods adopted by 
the savages to annoy and destroy their pursuing 
enemies. It also made them sensibly realize that 
Pemissapan was a dangerous neighbor, whom sound 
policy required them closely to watch. 

After their return from their exploration of the 
Roanoke, new events which occurred served to con- 
firm their opinion of the treacherous and dangerous 
character of this wily chief. Ensenore, the father 
of Pemissapan, was a true friend of the colonists. 
He had no sympathy with the antipathy and mali- 
ciousness of his son. In the councils which were 
held to deliberate upon the policy to be adopted 
towards the white strangers, he always stood up as 
8* 



90 pemissapan's plot. 

their protector, and interposed his influence for their 
good. His name should be held in grateful remem- 
brance by their descendants. 

Still, according to Governor Lane's account, 
Pemissapan arranged a plan for the overthrow of 
the colony. After having projected a variety of 
annoyances, such as the withholding of food from 
the English, omitting to plant corn, destroying their 
fishing wears, and thus obliging them to live mainly 
upon clams, muscles, and other shell fish, he devised 
an artful plot for their destruction. 

It was the custom with the Indians, when any of 
their principal men deceased, to observe a great fes- 
tival to their honor. When Ensenore, who was ad- 
vanced in years, died, which occurred about this 
time, his son, Pemissapan, resolved to have a fes- 
tival to his memory, and when large numbers of 
Indians should have assembled together, to make an 
attack upon the English and destroy them. Indians 
of different tribes were to be collected, and were to 
have their encampments located in different places, 
and when one portion of them should succeed in 
executing Governor Lane, bonfires were to be lighted 
at prominent points as the signal of their success 5 
and then others were to make an attack upon the 
English colony, and cut them all off* in cold blood. 

The method which had been adopted for the de- 
struction of the governor was as follows : Twenty 



VARIOUS MURDERS PLANNED. 91 

warriors, under the command of two principal braves, 
were appointed to watch his person. They were to 
ascertain in what house he lodged, and at midnight, 
when they had reason to believe that he was fast 
locked in unconscious sleep, they were to station 
themselves around his door ; some of them were 
then to set the house on fire by kindling the dry 
reeds with which it was covered, and when he should 
awake and attempt to escape from the burning build- 
ing, they were to fall upon him with their weapons 
and put him to death. The same plan was arranged 
for the destruction of other prominent Englishmen. 
The town and the fort were then to be burned and 
the colonists destroyed wherever they could be found. 

Such, in brief, is Governor Lane's account of the 
matter, which he says was revealed to him by an 
Indian named Skyco, and was confirmed by one of 
Pemissapan's own men. 

The plot being disclosed. Lane began to counter- 
plot, and after a while succeeded in securing an 
interview with Pemissapan and eight of his princi- 
pal men. Regarding this a favorable opportunity 
for inflicting upon the traitorous Indian deserved 
death, he gave to his own guard the watcliword, 
which had been previously communicated to them, 
wliich was, " Christ our victory," when instantly 
they sprang upon the Indians and slew them. Pem- 
issapan was shot through by the colonel with a pistol, 



92 A FLEET ! A FLEET ! 

and fell as if dead ; but during the continuance of 
the melee, he seized a -favorable opportunity, sud- 
denly sprang to his feet, and started off with the 
speed of the deer, his bullet wound operating like a 
spur to a horse ; " insomuch," says Lane, " as he 
overran all the company, being, by the way, shot 
thwart the buttocks by mine Irish boy with my 
petronell.* In the end, an Irishman serving me, 
one Nugent, and the deputy provost, undertook him ; 
and following him in the woods overtook him ; and 
I in some doubt lest we had lost both the king and 
my man by our own negligence to have been inter- 
cepted by the savages, we met him returning out of the 
woods with Pemissapan's head in his hand." This 
transpired on the 1st of June, 1586. Thus the colony 
was saved from the dangers which encompassed it. 

On the 8th of the same month, intelligence 
reached Governor Lane that a great fleet of three 
and twenty sail were upon the coast ; but whether 
they were friends or foes was unknown. This in- 
formation was communicated by Captain Stafford, 
who was then lying at my Lord Admiral's Island. 
This was important news. If this large fleet were 
enemies, and should discover the colony, it would 
be an easy thing for them to conquer and make 
prisoners of war of all the English ; but if they were 

* A kind of carabine, or large horseman's pistol. 



ARRIVAL OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE. 93 

friends, they could not have come at a better time. 
Intense solicitude Was felt to discover their flag. 
As they gradually neared the coast, coming on like 
a flock of white-winged sea birds, the eyes of the 
English were strained to make out their national 
character. They earnestly hoped that they might 
prove to be reenforcements, and fresh stores, which 
they had been expecting from home ; yet in conse- 
quence of their large number, they feared that that 
could not be the case, unless a portion of them were 
a naval convoy, accompanying the others for their 
protection. Their suspense, however, was of short 
duration. The most joyous excitement was created 
in the little colony when it was ascertained that this 
was an English fleet, under the command of the re- 
nowned Sir Francis Drake. He had visited them 
in obedience to the command of her majesty. Queen 
Elizabeth of England, to inquire after their welfare, 
and to supply their wants. Despondency now gave 
place to hope. As their necessities were to be met 
in men, boats, and provisions, they expected to be 
able to maintain their position until the anticipated 
reenforcements from Sir Walter Raleigh arrived. 

Drake treated the colony with great courtesy and 
kindness. At their request he furnished them with 
one bark, called the Francis, of seventy tons, two 
pinnaces, and four small boats, with provisions suffi- 
cient to last a hundred men four months, so that in 



94 FRESH SUPPLIES. 

case nothing was heard from Sir WaUer Raleigh, 
and it became necessary, as a matter of self-preser- 
vation, for them to return to England, they might 
have the means of so doing ; or if they remained 
in the new world, that they might be able to make 
explorations m safety along the coast. As a num- 
ber of the colonists were weak, sickly, and other- 
wise inefficient, Drake also supplied Governor Lane 
with a number of able-bodied men and some expe- 
rienced and discreet officers, two of whom were 
Abraham Kendall and Griffith Heme. The pro- 
visions and the new officers, with a number of others 
from the colony, were on board the Francis, when, 
on the day following the new arrangement, a violent 
storm arose, which compelled the Francis, with all 
on board, to escape to sea. The storm continued 
four days — from the 13th to the 16th of June. As 
the road where the fleet was anchored was much 
exposed, a number of the other vessels were obliged 
to put to sea also. Indeed, so severe was the 
weather, and so powerful the rolling waves, " that 
they had like to have driven all on shore, if the Lord 
had not held liis holy hand over them." 

The Francis did not return. She was not heard 
of again till Drake arrived in England, where he 
met her. He now offered to supply the colonists 
with another vessel. But after consultation among 
themselves, they declined accepting it. So great had 



THE COLONY RETURNS. 95 

been their discomforts, so unfriendly were the In- 
dians, that they were effectually weaned from the 
love of colonial life in America. And now that 
their fresh supply of provisions and men had been 
carried away in consequence of the weather, they 
construed it into the frown of divine Providence 
upon their attempt at colonization ; they therefore 
requested the admiral to receive them on board his 
vessels and take them home. Drake readily con- 
sented to comply with their wishes. But in getting 
them on board his vessels, so boisterous was the 
weather, and so often did the pinnaces get aground, 
that almost all their luggage, with all their cards, 
books, and writings, was cast overboard by the 
sailors. After the colonists were divided among the 
different vessels of the fleet, " the general, in the 
name of the Almighty, weighing his anchors, set sail 
the 19th of June, 15S6, and arrived in Portsmouth, 
England, the 27th of .Tuly the same year." 

Thus ingloriously terminated Governor Ralph 
Lane's colony on the Island of Roanoke. Lane 
seems to have been a man of too little nerve, cour- 
age, and persevering determination, under difficulties, 
to be the founder of a colony. He was not a man 
to infuse vigor into the drooping spirits of others, 
and to lead a forlorn hope. In the present instance 
he became discouraged too soon. We think, too, 
that he magnified his dangers arising from the 



96 CHARACTER OF LANE. 

Indians. With more firmness on his part, he might 
have kept the colony together mitil the promised 
reenforcements of Sir Walter Raleigh arrived. For 
at the time Admiral Drake visited them, they had 
crops in the ground (of which the corn was within 
a fortnight of gathering) sufficient to have lasted 
them two years. As Pemissapan was then slain, as 
some of the neighboring tribes were friendly to the 
English, and as all the Indians were in great dread 
of fire-arms, we think that Lane might, with proper 
policy, in his treatment of the Indians, have so man- 
aged as to have secured a permanent settlement. 
But he was not the man for the crisis. He precipi- 
tately fled from the place ; and thus fell the first at- 
tempt of the English to settle a colony upon the 
shores of the new world ! 

It is difficult, even at this late day, to suppress a 
feeling of regret at his hasty departure, when we 
know that Sir Walter was exerting himself nobly at 
home to fulfil his promise of further assistance, and 
that the assistance was actually sent, though at a 
later period than was expected. 

The same year, and only a short time after Drake 
had taken the colonists away, a ship of a hundred 
tons, abundantly freighted with all kinds of supplies 
for the young colony, arrived upon the coast. It 
had been sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh according 
to his promise. After examining "this paradise of 



ARRIVALS TOO LATE. 97 

the world for some time, and being unable to find 
the colony whom they had come to relieve, they 
were obhged to return, taking all their supplies with 
them." 

About a fortnight after his departure. Sir Richard 
Greenville, who had brought the colonists to this 
new world, also arrived, with three vessels well 
freighted. He visited Roanoke, and was surprised 
to see the place deserted. Not an Englishman 
could be found. After making several excursions 
into the country in different directions, for the double 
purpose of learning, if he could, the fate of the 
colony, and of making further discoveries of the 
geography and productions of the land, he concluded 
to return. But being unwilling to lose possession 
of the country, he, after grave deliberation with his 
officers, decided to leave fifteen men to hold the 
place. 

After selecting the men, and depositing with them 
provisions, he bade them farewell, and departed, 
leaving them the sole guardians of a continent. 

On his return he visited the Islands of Azores, 
landed, and destroyed the towns, taking many Span- 
iards prisoners. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Indian Clothing^. — Their Weapons. — Their Houses. — Mode of 
Warfare. — Their religious Opinions. — Stories about Resurrec- 
tion from the Dead. — Astonishment at certain English Ar- 
ticles. — Their Opinions of the English. — Their religious In- 
struction. — Their singular Treatment of the Bible. — Requests 
for Prayers. — Strange Sickness. — How it was accounted 
for. — English thought to be Gods. — Invisible Bullets. — In- 
dian Uses of Tobacco, — Snuff for Fish. — Raleigh's ,Wager 
with the Queen. — A Man on Fire. — Permanence of Indian 
Customs. 

Amongst the colonists who went out witii Gov- 
ernor Ralph Lane was Mr. Thomas Hariot, a 
scientific gentleman, who was appointed to inves- 
tigate the natural productions of the country, the 
commodities and habits of the natives, and write 
the history of the expedition. From his account, 
which is published in Hakluyt's Collection, — a rare 
book, — we gather the following facts concerning 
the natives of that region. 

Their clothing consisted of mantles and aprons 
of deer skins. The mantles were thrown loosely 
over their shoulders, and the aprons worn in front. 

They had no edge tools or weapons of iron or 
steel. They used bows made of witch-hazel, 
arrows of reeds, and flat-edged clubs about a yard 
long. To protect themselves from the weapons of 



INDIAN WIGWAMS. 99 

their enemies, they had shields made of bark, and 
others composed of sticks, woven together hke 
basket work. Their huts were made by placing a 
mimber of flexible poles in the ground, and then 
bending them till their tops met. They were 
there fastened together, and then covered with 
bark of trees, or mats ; or else thatched with grass 
and rushes down to the ground. Some of them 
were long, like an arbor; others perfectly round. 
A square opening was left in one side for a door, 
and a hole in the top for the double purpose of 

* 

chimney and window. In size they were from 
twelve to twenty-four yards in length, and half as 
wide. Their towns, which were generally near the 
sea, were small, embracing from ten to thirty of 
these cabins. Some of them were protected by a 
stockade, composed of stakes set thickly together, 
and encompassing the whole village, and others by 
a slight defence, made of barks fastened to posts. 

Their wars were conducted by sudden surprises 
in tlie early dawn of the morning, or at the dead 
hour of night, and by deceitful ambushes. Or if 
they had a set battle, it was usually in a part of the 
country where trees abounded, behind which they 
hid for protection, whilst they shot at their enemy. 

In respect to religious opinions, they thought that 
there were many gods, and that they were of human 
shape ; and, therefore, they represented them by 






100 INDIAN DOCTRINES. 

images of men, which they called hewasowok, the 
plural of Jcewas. These they placed in certain 
rude temples, where the people worshipped, prayed, 
sang, and made offerings to them. 

They believed also in the immortality of the 
soul, and that after this life they would be rewarded 
according to their characters here. " For the con- 
firmation of this opinion," says Hariot, " they told 
me two stories of two men that had been lately 
dead and revived again. The one happened but 
few years before our coming into the country, of a 
wicked man, which, having been dead and buried, 
the next day the earth of the grave being seen to 
move, was taken up again, who made declaration 
where his soul had been ; that is to say, very near 
entering into popogusso, (their word for hell.'j Had 
not one of the gods saved him, and gave him leave 
to return again and teach his friends what they 
should do to avoid that terrible place of torment. 
The other happened in the same year we were 
there, but in a town that was sixty miles from us ; 
and it was told me for strange news, that one being 
dead, buried, and taken up again, as the first, 
showed that, although his body had lien dead in the 
grave, yet his soul was alive, and had travelled far 
on a long, broad way, on both sides whereof grew 
most delicate and pleasant trees, bearing more rare 
and excellent fruits than ever he had seen before, 



STRANGE STORIES. 101 

or was able to express, and at length came to most 
brave and fair houses, near which he met his father, 
that had been dead before, who gave him great 
charge to go back again, and show his friends what 
good they were to do to enjoy the pleasures of that 
place, which when he had done, he should after 
come again." 

We have copied these stories, not because we 
believe them, but as illustrations of the opinions of 
the natives, and of the kind of evidence by which 
their minds are convinced. 

When the English made their excursions into 
the country, and also when the natives visited 
them, they showed them various kinds of imple- 
ments, not merely to excite their wonder, but also 
to impress them with their great knowledge and 
skill, and in this manner to secure their respect, 
reverence, and confidence. 

Mr. Hariot says, " Most things they saw with 
us, as mathematical instruments, sea compasses, the 
virtue of the loadstone in drawing iron, a per- 
spective glass, whereby was shewed many strange 
sights, burning glasses, wild fireworks, guns, hooks, 
writing and reading, spring clocks that seem to go 
of themselves, and many other things that we had, 
were so strange unto them, and so far exceeded 
their capacities to comprehend the reasons and 
means how they should be made and done, that 
9* 



102 EFFECTS OF CURIOSITIES. 

they thought they were rather the works of gods 
than of men, or at the least wise, they had been 
given and taught as of the gods, which made many 
of them to have such opinion of us, as that if they 
knew not the truth of God and rehgion already, it 
was rather to be had from us whom God so spe- 
cially loved, than from a people that were so simple 
as they found themselves to be in comparison of us. 
Whereupon greater credit was given unto that we 
spake of concerning such matters." 

In every town which Hariot visited, he says he 
made known, as well as he was able, the contents of 
the Bible, telling the Indians that therein were made 
known the character of the only true God, his 
wonderful works, and especially the life and mir- 
acles of Jesus Christ, and the way of salvation 
through him. And although he was careful to tell 
them that there was no virtue in the material of 
which the book was made, but only in the great 
truths which it contained, yet they regarded the 
book with the greatest reverence. Some would 
gently touch it with their fingers ; others devoutly 
embraced it in their arms ; others again reverently 
kissed it, held it to their heads and breasts, and 
rubbed it over their whole body, as if to indicate 
their strong desire to understand more fully its 
contents, or perhaps, superstitiously regarding it as 
a charm, they imagined that in this way they might, 
by its mysterious power, ward off danger. 



INDIAN REVERENCE FOR THE ENGLISH. 103 

The chief Wingina and many of his men were 
gratified with the privilege of being present when 
the EngUsh were engaged in their devotions, and at 
other times they would request that prayers and 
hymns might be offered. 

On one occasion, when this chief was dangerously 
ill, and fearing it might be a judgment for offending 
the English, and consequently their God, he sent for 
some of them to pray that it would please God 
either to spare his life, or, after death, receive him 
into his own blessed presence, to dwell there for- 
ever. It was the same with others. 

It reminds us of an interesting incident which 
occurred some years after in the history of Plym- 
outh. When the Indian interpreter Squanto was 
dying, he called for Governor Bradford, and re- 
quested him to pray that he might " go to the 
Englishmen's God in heaven." 

On another occasion, a great drought prevailed 
at Roanoke, and when the corn began to wither, 
fearing it was produced by the Englishmen's God, 
in consequence of some sin committed by the 
Indians, they came to the white strangers, and re- 
quested them to pray to the God of England, that 
he would preserve their corn, promising that when 
it was ripe the Enghsh should be partakers of it. 

Any unusual sickness, losses, or catastrophes, 
they attributed to their displeasing the English, 



104 STRANGE DISEASE. 

which brought down, as they supposed, the anger 
of their God. 

" One other rare and strange accident," says 
Hariot, " leaving others, will I mention before I 
end, which moved the whole country, that either 
knew or heard of us, to have us in wonderful ad- 
miration. 

" There was no town where we had any subtle 
device practised against us, we leaving it unpun- 
ished or not revenged, (because we sought by all 
means possible to win them by gentleness,) but that 
within a few days after our departure from every 
such town, the people began to die very fast, and 
many in short space, in some towns about twenty, 
in some forty, and in one six score, which in truth 
was very many in respect to tlieir numbers. This 
happened in no place, that we could learn, but 
where we had been, where they used some practice 
against lis, and after such time. The disease also 
was so strange, that they neither knew what it was, 
nor how to cure it : the like, by the report of the 
oldest men in the country, never happened before, 
time out of mind — a thing especially observed by 
us, as also by the natural inhabitants themselves; 
insomuch that when some of the inhabitants which 
were our friends, and especially the weroance, or 
chief, Wingina, had observed such effects, in four 
or five towns, to follow their wicked practices, they 



INDIAN OPINIONS OF THE ENGLISH. 105 

were persuaded that it was the work of our God, 
through our means, and that we by him might kill 
and slay whom we would without weapons, and not 
come near them." 

For this reason the friendly Indians, when they 
knew that others had offended the English, and it 
had not been retahated upon them, would request 
the colonists to pray that such offenders might be 
destroyed, as this would be greatly to the credit of 
the English and of those natives who were known 
to be friendly to them. 

To such requests the English paid no regard, but, 
on the contrary, taught the Indians that they ought 
to pray for the welfare of their enemies ; yet when 
the calamities for which they desired the English 
to pray actually came, they attributed them to their 
power with God, and came to them and rendered 
them thanks, that though they had declined to 
promise revenge in words, yet they had inflicted it 
in deeds. 

" This marvelous accident in all the country 
wrought so strange opinions of us, that some people 
could not tell whether to think us gods or men, 
and the rather that because all the space of their 
sickness there was no man of ours known to die, 
or that was specially sick. They noted also that 
we had no women amongst us, neither that we did 
care for any of them. 



/ 
106 ..• FIRST USE or TOBACCO. 

" Some, therefore, were of opinion that we were 
not born of women, and therefore not mortal, but 
that we were men of an old generation, many 
years past, then risen again to immortality. 

" Some would likewise seem to prophesy that 
there were more of our generation yet to come to 
kill them and take their places, as some thought 
the purpose was by that which was already done. 
Those that were immediately to come after us 
they imagined to be in the air, yet invisible and 
without bodies ; and that they, by our entreaty, 
and for the love of us, did make the people to die 
in that sort as they did, by shooting invisible bullets 
into tliem. 

" To confirm this opinion, their physicians (to 
excuse their ignorance in curing the disease) would 
not be ashamed to say, but earnestly make the sim- 
ple believe, that the strings of blood that they 
sucked out of their sick bodies were the strings 
wherewithal the invisible bullets were tied and 
cast. Some also thoujjht that we shot them our- 
selves out of our pieces, from the place where we 
dwelt, and killed the people in any towne that had 
offended us as we listed, how far distant from us 
soever it were." 

Hariot also gives an amusing account of the 
singular uses of a weed well known at the present 
day by the name of tobacco, but which by the 



SINGULAR USE OF SNUFF. 107 

Indians was called uppowocn, the leaves of which, 
being dried and pulverized, the Indians were accus- 
tomed to put into a clumsy pipe made of clay, 
and suck the smoke " into their stomach and head." 
So highly did they esteem this uppowoc, that they 
imagined it to be peculiarly acceptable to their gods. 
Hence, when they made their sacred fires, they cast 
some of it in as a sacrifice. If a storm overtook 
them upon the waters, to pacify their oflTended 
deities, they threw snuff in the air and upon the 
waves. When they set a new wear or net for 
taking fish, they sprinkled some on the wear, and 
some in the atmosphere, as if they would both con- 
ciliate the gods, and tempt the fish with a pinch of 
snuflf; and when they escaped from danger, they 
threw some in the air as a thank offering ; " but all 
done with strange gestures, stamping, sometime 
dancing, clapping of hands, holding up of hands, 
and staring up into the heavens, uttering therewithal 
and chatterinjj stranjre words and noises." 

" We ourselves, during the time we were there, 
used to suck it after their manner, as also since our 
return." This was the origin of the use of tobacco 
among the English. Quantities of it were at that 
time sent to England ; and through the influence of 
Governor Lane, Sir Walter Raleigh, and a ^e\y 
others, it was soon introduced into general use. 

Smoking of this nauseous weed became so 
fashionable at court, that many distinguished ladies 



108 RALEIGH BETS WITH THE QUEEN. 

and noblemen were seen with a pipe in their 
mouths. Sometimes it led to amusing incidents, 
two of which we will relate. 

On one occasion, when tobacco was the subject 
of conversation. Sir Walter laid a wager with the 
queen, that he could ascertain exactly the weight of 
the smoke which was puffed away in a pipe of 
tobacco.* Taking a quantity of tobacco, he first 
accurately weighed it, then put it into the bowl of 
the pipe, and began to puff. As the smoke circled 
in graceful wreaths around his head, and diffused 
itself through the atmosphere, it seemed to the 
spectators a difficult, if not an impossible task for 
him to catch the volatile vapor and imprison it so 
as to get its weight. But Sir Walter was a philos- 
opher as well as courtier, and knew what he had 
undertaken, and how to accomplish it. He kept on 
calmly smoking until no more clouds could be 
produced, and then, carefully weighing the ashes, 
he subtracted their weight from the weight of the 
tobacco which he first put in his pipe, and the 
remainder, he told the queen, was the exact quan- 
tity which had gone off in smoke. Her majesty 
readily assented to the statement, and acknowledged 
that she had lost. When she paid the wager, she 
pleasantly said that she had " heard of many laborers 

* See the frontispiece. 



AMUSING INCIDENT. 109 

in the fire, that turned their gold to smoke, but Sir 
Walter was the first who had turned smoke into gold." 

Another incident more humorous, but not quite so 
pleasant to the subject, occurred about the same 
time. A country servant of Sir Walter, who had not 
been initiated into the use of this fashionable article, 
and who, it seems, was not acquainted with his 
master's habit, entered Raleigh's study with a tan- 
kard of ale and nutmeg. Seeing Raleigh with a 
pipe in his mouth, and the smoke pouring out, in- 
tently engaged over his books, he became so fright- 
ened that he threw the ale into his face to extin- 
guish the fire, and ran rapidly down stairs, crying 
out in his loudest tones, " Master is on fire ! Mas- 
ter is on fire, and before you can get to him, he 
will be burned to ashes ! " 

Hariot has also given an accomit of the various 
kinds of birds, beasts, fishes, and plants which the 
country at that early day was found to produce ; 
but these it is not necessary here to name. 

Many of the customs, domestic, warlike, and 
religious, and also the amusements which prevailed 
among the aborigines at the time of the first settle- 
ment of the country, are found still to exist among 
the remnant of their descendants, who, by the 
gradual encroachments of the whites, have been 
driven to the far west. Opinions and practices 
amongst them, if left to the natural course of things, 

are found to alter very slowly. 
10 



CHAPTER X. 

A new Colony. — An obstinate Pilot. —Search for the Fifteen. — 
Condition of Roanoke. — Affecting Scene. — Repairs beg'un. — 
The Pilot's Designs defeated. — Death of Mr. George Howe by 
the Indians. — A welcome Reception. — A Badge of Friendship 
desired, — A formal Conference. — Fate of the Fifteen. — At- 
tack of the Indians. — The English defeated. — False Prom- 
ises. — A Midnight Excursion. — Indians surprised. — A fatal 
Mistake. — How it occurred. — Manteo blames the Indians. — 
Manteo christened. — First English Child born. — Virginia Dare. 

Although the efforts of Sir Walter Raleigh to 
establish settlements in the new world had been sig- 
nally unsuccessful, and had occasioned him the loss 
of many thousands of pounds, yet such were the 
elasticity of his nature and the perseverance of his 
disposition, that he resolved to make another at- 
tempt. 

The failure of the previous expeditions had brought 
the whole subject of American colonial enterprise 
into disrepute. Many false and injurious stories 
were in circulation concerning the new countries, 
which greatly tended to dampen the spirit of emi- 
gration. To meet these malicious fabrications, and 
to present a statement of the facts in the case, Mr. 
Hariot wrote the account from which we have given 
quotations in the preceding pages. 

In consequence of the untrue reports in circulation, 



ANOTHER COMPANY. Ill 

Sir Walter must have found no little difficulty in 
collecting another company to seek their fortune in 
the midst of the uncertainties and dangers of colonial 
adventure on the American coast. However, by 
addressing himself energetically to the task, he suc- 
ceeded in raising a company of one hundred and 
fifty men, over whom he appointed Mr. John White 
governor, with twelve assistants. These he got in- 
corporated by the name of " Governor and Assistants 
of the City of Raleigh in Virginia." 

On the 8th day of May, 1587, this new colony 
set sail from Plymouth, in England, for the new 
world. They pursued the old route by way of the 
West Indies, and arrived on the American coast 
at Cape Hatteras the 22d of July. Raleigh had 
given them orders to settle upon Chesapeake Bay. 
But the pilot, one Simon Ferdinando, being unaccom- 
modating and obstinate, refused to grant the neces- 
sary assistance in finding the place ; and he is sus- 
pected of an intention to ruin the enterprise, if it 
had been in his power. But his nefarious designs 
were thwarted through the vigilance of Captain 
Stafford. 

Upon their arrival at Cape Hatteras, Governor 
White, with forty of his best men, went ashore for 
the purpose of finding the fifteen men who had been 
left there by Sir Richard Greenville to keep posses- 
sion of the country. 



112 A MISSING COLONY. 

As they passed over the island towards the spot 
where Roanoke was situated, admiring the beauties 
of nature, and cursorily examining various plants, 
trees, and other natural objects on their route, they 
kept a careful lookout in every direction for either 
Englishmen or Indians, in hopes of learning the 
condition and adventures of the little band who had 
been left the sole guardians of a continent. Silence 
reigned supreme, except when broken by the songs 
of birds, or the rolling of the surf upon the shore. 
This continued stillness, and the absence of human 
beings, awakened intense solicitude, for it was upon 
this island where the little colony of fifteen had been 
left. Passing along with their steps quickened by 
their anxiety, they finally reached the northern end 
of the island, where the previous governor, Ralph 
Lane, had erected a fort, and a number of dwelhng 
houses. Here they had expected to find the little band. 
But the appearance of the place at once blasted all 
their hopes, and convinced them that some fearful 
tragedy had been enacted. The fort was destroyed ; 
the houses were in a dilapidated condition ; the lower 
parts of them, the ground floors, and also the site 
of the fort, were overgrown with melons, intermin- 
gled with weeds, amongst which wild deer were 
feeding. To cap the climax of their fears, the 
bones of the dead were found there, furnishing evi- 
dence, too conclusive, that some fearful drama 



ARRIVAL OF SPICER. 113 

had there transpired. " So we returned to our 
company without hope of ever seeing any of the 
fifteen men hving." 

Orders were immediately given by Governor 
White to repair the houses wliich were left, and to 
build more new ones. The sound of the saw and 
the hammer was now heard, and life and activity 
were again in the ascendant upon Roanoke. 

On the 25th of July, the Fly boat, containing a 
portion of the planters who had been purposely left 
behind by Ferdinando, when he sailed secretly from 
the Bay of Portugal, arrived, to the great joy of the 
others. As the captain of that boat, Edward Spicer, 
had never been to Virginia, it was Ferdinando's ex- 
pectation that he would be unable to find Roanoke, 
and would perish in the attempt, or be slain by sav- 
ages. His wickedness, however, was defeated. 

Three days after the arrival of Spicer, Mr. George 
Howe, one of the twelve assistants, went out to catch 
crabs. He had no other weapon than a small forked 
stick, which he used in taking his shell fish. Having 
stripped himself nearly naked, and waded in the 
water two miles from his company, he was suddenly 
attacked by an invisible foe. A band of Indians, 
who had come to the island either as spies to dis- 
cover the number of the new colony, or for the pur- 
pose of hunting the deer which here abounded, saw 
him wading in an unguarded manner along the shore. 
10* 



114 DEATH BY INVISIBLE FOES. 

Concealing themselves, Indian-like, among the high 
grass, they aimed their arrows at him and fired. 
He fell, pierced with sixteen wounds. They then 
ran to him, and beat his head in pieces, after which 
they took to their canoes, and fled to the main land. 

On the 30th of July, Captain Stafford, with twenty 
men, passed by water to the Island of Croatan. 
They took with them the Indian Manteo, who, as 
we have stated, had been to England, and had ac- 
quired something of the English language. It ap- 
pears as if he had crossed the Atlantic with Governor 
White's company, and if so, he had made two voy- 
ages to England. 

As on the Island of Croatan the mother and rel- 
atives of Manteo resided. Governor White hoped 
that there he might gather some tidings of the lost 
colony, besides learning the disposition of the Indians 
towards their white immigrants. 

At their first landing upon Croatan the Indians 
assumed a warlike attitude towards them. But when 
the English put on a bold front, and marched with 
their " shot towards them," they fled. But when 
Manteo raised his voice and called after them, a de- 
cided effect was produced. They paused ; threw 
away their weapons, to show that they renounced 
their belligerent designs ; came fearlessly to the Eng- 
lish, and embraced them in a cordial manner. They 
expressed the hope that their visitors would not 



FATE OF THE FIFTEEN. 115 

destroy their corn, as they had but a small quantity 
left. The governor assured them that his object 
was not to injure them, but to renew the friendship 
which had previously existed between them and the 
English, and to live with them as brethren. 

Being greatly pleased with this intelligence, they 
invited their visitors to their town, where they feasted 
them, according to the rules of Indian courtesy, in 
a hospitable manner. 

They earnestly desired the English to give them 
some article as a badge of friendship, so that when 
at any time they might meet the colonists, by show- 
ing this badge, they might convince them that they 
were friends, and thus escape being attacked. For 
want of some such arrangement, Governor Lane's 
men had, at different times, attacked them, under 
the impression that they were enemies. There was 
one among them then who had, in that manner, been 
wounded by mistake, and had not yet recovered. 

The next day a formal conference was held, at 
which the English were informed that Mr. Howe 
was slain by the remnant of Wingina's men, with 
whom Wanchese (who, in company with Manteo, 
had been to England) resided. They also learned 
some of the particulars respecting the fate of the 
fifteen men — that they had been suddenly attacked 
by thirty natives from Secotan, Aquascogoc, and 
Dasamonguepeuk. They secreted themselves behind 



116 SKIRMISH WITH THE NATIVES. 

the trees near the houses where the men carelessly 
lived, " and having perceived that of those fifteen 
they could see but eleven only, two of those savages 
appeared to the eleven Englishmen, calling to them, 
by friendly signs, that but two of their chiefest men 
should come unarmed to speak with those two sav- 
ages, who seemed also to be unarmed. Wherefore 
two of the chiefest of our Englishmen went gladly 
to them ; but whilst one of those savages traitorously 
embraced one of our men, the other, with his sword 
of wood, which he had secretly under his mantel, 
struck him on the head and slew him, and presently 
the other eight and twenty savages showed them- 
selves ; the other Englishman, perceiving this, fled 
to his company, whom the savages pursued with their 
bows and arrows so fast, that the Englishmen were 
forced to take the house, wherein all their victual 
and weapons were ; but the savages forthwith set 
the same on fire, by means whereof our men were 
forced to take up such weapons as came first to 
hand, and, without order, to run forth among the 
savages, with whom they skirmished above an hour. 
In this skirmish another of our men was shot into 
the mouth with an arrow, where he died; and also 
one of the savages was shot into the side by one of 
our men with a wildfire arrow, whereof he died 
presently. The place where they fought was of 
great advantage to the savages, by means of the 



FATE OF THE LOST COLONY. 117 

thick trees, behind which the savages, through 
their nimbleness, defended themselves, and so of- 
fended our men vt^ith their arrows, that our men, 
being some of them hurt, retired fighting to the 
water side, where their boat lay, with which they 
fled to Hatorask. By that time they had rowed but 
a quarter of a mile, they espied their four fellows 
coming from a creek thereby, where they had been 
to fetch oysters. These four they received into 
their boat, leaving Roanoke, and landed on a little 
island on the right hand of our entrance into the 
harbor of Hatorask, where they remained a while, 
but afterward departed, whither as yet we know not." 

This was the last they ever learned of that unfor- 
tunate band. Whether they perished at sea in their 
attempt to escape, or were slain by hostile savages 
of other tribes, was never known. They had dis- 
appeared without leaving any record behind them. 

Governor White made an attempt to obtain an 
interview with the chiefs of Secotan, Aquascogoc, 
and Pomeiok. The chief of Croatan had agreed to 
carry them an invitation to meet the English, and 
to return with their answer within seven days. He 
was particularly anxious to secure this conference, 
because he had been informed by the people of 
Croatan that the remnant ofWingina's men, who 
had killed Mr. Howe and had driven off the previous 
colony, were at one of these towns. But when the 



118 A SUDDEN SURPRISE. 

seven days had expired, and no answer was received 
from them, tlie governor determined to visit them 
at their own encampments, and revenge the deaths 
of those whom they had murdered. 

Accordingly, on the 8th of August, at midnight, 
he left Roanoke, accompanied by Captain Stafford, 
the interpreter Manteo, and twenty-three others. 
After crossing the water and landing, the men pro- 
ceeded as noiselessly as possible, and reached the 
village of their enemies in the early dawn. Seeing 
a fire, and a number of the savages sitting around 
it, they at once commenced the attack. The poor 
Indians, struck with amazement, sprang to their feet, 
and plunged into a thicket of reeds ; the English 
followed them, and fired, shooting one of them 
through the body with a bullet. All was now con- 
fusion. It was so dark that the women could not be 
discerned from the men. But before the fight had 
proceeded far, the important discovery was made 
that these were a company of friendly Indians, and 
ought not to have been attacked at all. 

The enemies of the whites, whom the English 
had expected to find here, fled immediately after 
they had killed Mr. Howe, and left all their corn, 
pumpkins, and tobacco in the fields unprotected, 
where it would soon have been destroyed by the 
birds and wild deer ; and these Indians had come 
to appropriate it to themselves. But they came 
near paying for it a heavy price. 



UNFORTUNATE MISTAKE. 119 

One of the squaws, the wife of a chief, had a nar- 
row escape. She was pursued by the Enghsh under 
the impression that she was a man ; but before the 
fatal blow was given, they discovered that she had a 
child suspended at her back, by which their erro- 
neous impression was corrected and her life spared. 
One of the others, an Indian, who was acquainted 
with Captain Stafford, ran to him during the fight, 
crying out, " Stafford, Stafford ! " by which he indi- 
cated his acquaintance with the captain, and saved 
his own life. 

Manteo was greatly grieved at the mistake which 
had occurred, by which these friendly Indians were 
taken for enemies ; but he attributed it to their own 
unfaithfulness, teUing tliem that if their chiefs had 
kept their promise, and visited the English on the 
day which they had designated, this catastrophe 
would have been prevented. 

Being disappointed in not finding those whom 
they sought, the English gathered all the corn, peas, 
pompions, and tobacco that were ripe, and taking 
with them the savages they found there, amongst 
whom was the wife of Menatoan, with her child, 
they returned to Roanoke. 

On the 13th of August, according to directions 
received from Sir Walter Raleigh previous to leav- 
ing England, the Indian interpreter, Manteo, was 
christened, and at the same time " invested with the 



120 THE FIRST ENGLISH CHILD. 

rank of f<eudal baron as Lord of Roanoke. It was 
the first peerage erected by the Enghsh in America." 

On the 18th of the same month, Mrs. Elenor 
Dare, the daughter of the governor, and wife of Mr. 
Ananias Dare, gave birth to a daughter. This was 
the first Enghsh child born in what is now the Unit- 
ed States. She was called, from the place of her 
birth, Virginia Dare. 

As the time approached for the vessels to leave 
for England, the colonists became anxious for some 
one of the assistants to return also, in order to ob- 
tain more supplies. As none of them was willing 
to go on this errand but one, who was regarded bj 
them all as a very unsuitable person, the colonists 
unanimously requested the governor to go in their 
behalf. He at first declined. He was unwilling to 
leave them amid dangers and trials, and be subjected 
at home to the suspicion that he never intended to 
reside himself in the new world, but merely to guide 
the colony there, and then abandon them to their 
fate. But after earnest persuasion, and being abun- 
dantly protected by written documents stating all 
the facts in the case, he left Roanoke on the 27th 
of August, and returned to England. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Spanish Armada. — All England aroused. — Noble Speech of the 
Queen. — Splendid Sight. — English Stratagem. — Signal De- 
feat. — The Armada destroyed. — White's Perseverance. — Suc- 
cess. — Disappointment. — Great Smoke, but no People. — Fatal 
Accident. — A musical Call. — No Response. — Significant Let- 
ters, Croatan. — Goods dug up. — Water wanted. — Severe 
Weather. — Victuals scarce. — Strange Decision. — The Colo- 
nists abandoned to their Fate. — A subsequent Tradition con- 
cerning them. — Its Uncertainty. — Present State of Roanoke. 

The return of Governor White to England, in 
behalf of the colony, occiuTed at an extremely un- 
propitious period. The whole English nation were 
excited by an expected invasion from Spain, and all 
classes were engaged in making preparations to re- 
pel from their shores the powerful, yet misnamed 
Invincible Spanish Armada. This consisted of a 
fleet of about one hundred and fifty vessels, some of 
which were of very large size, carrying two thousand 
six hundred and fifty guns, and having on board about 
twenty thousand soldiers, eight thousand sailors, and 
two thousand volunteers, from the most distinguished 
families of Spain. 

In appearance it seemed as if this immense fleet 
were sufficient to annihilate the English navy, which, 
in comparison with it, was very small, make a suc- 
cessful landing upon the shores of England, and, 
11 



122 THE SPANISH ARMADA. 

perhaps, get possession of London, if not of the 
queen. 

The Enghsh were fully aware of their danger, 
and were bringing into requisition all " the sinews 
of war " to repel it. Private merchants furnished 
vessels to the government for the general cause. 
The nobility were ready to grant the loans of 
money which their queen demanded. Men were 
every where enlisting in the army and navy, and all 
were ready to give the uninvited Spaniards a warm 
reception. 

Queen Elizabeth, sensible that her throne and 
the permanency of the Protestant reformation were 
in danger, and fully aware of the influence which 
her personal presence would have upon her army, 
appeared on horseback in the camp, and, gracefully 
riding along the lines of her brave soldiers, she 
addressed them, and encouraged them to fidelity to 
their country and their God, declaring " that she 
would rather perish in battle than survive the ruin 
and slavery of her people. I know," she continued, 
intrepidly, " that I have but the weak and feeble 
arm of a woman ; but I have the heart of a king, 
and of a king of England too." 

By this spirited conduct, she not only excited the 
admiration of the army, but aroused their enthusi- 
asm to the highest degree. Every man resolved to 
die rather than desert his post. 



A MAGNIFICENT SCENE. 123 

When the Armada was first discovered approach- 
ing the EngUsh coast, it was in the form of a cres- 
cent, the two extremities being about seven miles 
apart, and presented a magnificent appearance. As 
it sailed up the British Channel, the English vessels 
attacked it in the rear, and gave it great annoyance. 
When it anchored off Calais, the English admiral, 
Lord Howard, resorted to a stratagem. He took, 
eight of his small class vessels, filled them with 
combustibles, such as pitch, sulphur, &c., set them 
on fire, and let them drive before the wind upon 
the different divisions of the enemy. When the 
Spaniards saw these flaming vessels coming down 
upon them, they were filled with consternation. 
The darkness of the night, the lurid glare of the 
heavens, the bright reflections of the water, and 
the proximity of their vigilant and cunning enemy, 
defending their liberties and their lives, all com- 
bined, rendered the scene fearfully terrific. The 
pride of victory and the joys of conquest, by the 
hope of which they had been stimulated to engage 
in this hazardous undertaking, were soon effectually 
destroyed. A panic seized the whole fleet, and 
rendered each crew anxious only for their own 
safety. Some of the vessels weighed their anchors, 
and escaped with order from their perilous position ; 
others hastily cut their cables, and were driven 
before the wind. In the darkness and confusion, 



124 DEFEAT OF THE SPANISH ARMADA. 

some of them came violently together in dreadful 
collision, by which they were so greatly damaged 
as to be unseaworthy, and were abandoned. 

When the glare of the burning vessels gave 
place to the dawning of the morning, the English 
admiral had the satisfaction of discovering that his 
midnight stratagem had been eminently successful. 
The vessels of the Armada were in great confusion, 
and were widely separated from each other. No 
time was lost, on the part of the English, in giving 
chase to the scattered Spaniards. They attacked 
them simultaneously, and with great fury, at a 
number of different points. The Spaniards fought 
bravely, but without success. Some of their vessels 
were sunk, others were driven ashore and were fast 
aground, and others were captured. The Invincible 
Armada was defeated ! 

The Spanish admiral now attempted to return 
home through the English Channel, with the rem- 
nant of his fleet ; but as the winds were contrary, 
and the enemy troublesome, he found this imprac- 
ticable. He was therefore compelled to go in the 
other direction, and make the circuit of the island. 
In passing by the Orkneys, a violent tempest arose, 
by which many of the ships were rendered unman- 
ageable, and were driven upon the Western Islands 
of Scotland, or on the coast of Ireland, where they 
were miserably wrecked. Not one half of the 



THE queen's medal. 125 

vessels, and a still smaller proportion of the men, 
ever returned to Spain. 

All England vv^as filled with joy at this signal 
victory, by which they obtained a glorious deliver- 
ance from impending danger. In commemoration 
of it. Queen Elizabeth ordered medals to be struck 
with this motto, Affiavit Deus, et dissipantur — God 
blew upon them, and they were dispersed. 

We have given an account of this great naval 
conflict, not because it occurred at this time, and 
was such an important event in itself considered, 
but because of its disastrous influence upon the 
little colony at Roanoke. 

Governor White, at the earnest and unanimous 
request of the colonists, had returned to England to 
obtain assistance, which they knew would be greatly 
needed. Upon his arrival, he found those from 
whom he had hoped to obtain the necessary aid 
sharing in the general excitement arising from the 
expected invasion. Their thoughts, purposes, and 
eflforts were concentrated upon measures of defence. 
It was diflicult to induce them to consider any other 
subject. 

A council of war had been appointed by the 
queen to put the land forces into the best posture 
of defence. This was an important and responsible 
undertaking, and required frequent and long con- 
sultations. On this council were placed three of 
11* 



126 ROAN0KE NEGLECTED. 

those who had been the most deeply interested in 
the settlement of Virginia — Sir Walter Raleigh, 
Sir Richard Greenville, and Ralph Lane, Esq., the 
late governor of Virginia. 

So deeply were they engaged in planning meas- 
ures for the defeat of the approaching Armada, and 
preserving the liberties of the nation, that they 
could not attend to the claims of a little band of 
settlers three thousand miles off. 

Governor White, however, instead of being dis- 
heartened, persevered in his efforts for the accom- 
plishment of his mission. He knew the condition 
in which he had left the colony at Roanoke — 
their limited supply of provisions ; the weakness of 
their means of defence ; the barbarous nature of 
the Indians who surrounded them, and the anxiety 
with which they would wait for his return. He 
therefore urged the matter upon the attention of 
Sir Walter Raleigh with such importunity, that 
when the council of war had fixed upon their plan 
of operations for the reception of the Spaniards, Sir 
Walter spent his leisure in providing the requisite 
supplies for Virginia. 

He fitted out a small fleet, and placed it under 
the command of Sir Richard Greenville. Here a 
new difficulty arose. 

So great was the alarm occasioned by the 
expected invasion of the Armada, that an order 



A NEW DIFFICULTY. 127 

was issued from the British government, that all 
ships of force, then in any readiness, should stay in 
their harbors for the defence of their own country ; 
and Sir Richard Greenville was personally com- 
manded not to depart from Cornwall, where Sir 
Walter was then enlisting and training forces for 
the war, as the lieutenant of that county. 

Notwithstanding this new source of embarrass- 
ment, Governor White persevered with so much 
assiduity as to succeed in obtaining two small 
barks, with which he left Biddeford on the 22d of 
April, 1588. These, however, proved of no ser- 
vice ; for their officers, being more anxious to make 
profitable voyages than to relieve the suffering col- 
ony, ran in chase of Spanish prizes, till one of 
them fell in with two ships of the enemy, with 
whom it had a bloody engagement, and by whom 
it was conquered and rifled. In less than a month 
from the time the vessel left, it returned, in a tat- 
tered and maimed condition, to relate the story of 
its defeat. In about three weeks afterwards, the 
other returned also, perhaps from a similar cause, 
and without ever having reached Virginia. This 
sealed the fate of the neglected colony. Sir Wal- 
ter Raleigh was deeply afflicted and displeased at 
this result ; but it had occurred, and now there 
was no remedy. 

As Sir Walter had already spent a hundred and 



128 NEW COMPANY FORMED. 

twenty thousand dollars upon his American col- 
onies, as he had also become largely interested in 
the planting and settling of certain estates in Ire- 
land which had been granted to him by the govern- 
ment, and as he was one of the foremost of the 
military officers in carrying on the war against 
Spain, he came to the conclusion to extend to 
others the opportunity of using the privileges of 
his American charter, instead of making any further 
attempts to improve them himself. 

For this purpose, a company was formed, em- 
bracing Thomas Smith, John White, Richard Hak- 
luyt, and a number of others, to whom Sir Walter 
granted the right to make settlements in Virginia, 
or in any other part of America where he had any 
interest or title. 

He went farther than this, and gave them one 
hundred pounds, to be spent in efforts to plant the 
Christian religion among the benighted savages of 
that distant land. 

But this new company seem not to have pos- 
sessed the enterprise of Raleigh. Their move- 
ments were tardy and feeble. They allowed anoth- 
er year to slip by before any new colonists were 
sent forth. It was not till March, 1590, that any 
thing was done for the relief of the neglected 
settlers of Roanoke. At that time, three ships, un- 
der the direction of White, set sail from Plymouth, 



SUPPLIES AT LAST. 129 

England, and on the 3d of August, they arrived 
at the low, sandy island west of Wococon. When 
they came within sight of Roanoke, they saw a 
great cloud of smoke rising from that island, which 
they supposed was made by the colonists, as it 
arose from near the spot where Governor White 
left the settlers three years before. The shore was 
carefully examined as the vessels approached, to 
discover, if possible, some of the colonists, with 
whom they might immediately open communica- 
tions, and send word to the long-forsaken and 
disconsolate company, that friends, supplies, and 
fresh recruits had at last arrived to gladden their 
hearts and strengthen their hands in their dreary 
solitude. But no human being was seen. The 
smoke kept rising up like a great column, as if it 
were a signal to them, informing them of the 
location of those whom they sought. 

On the evening of the 15th of August, they 
anchored off Hatorask, and on the 16th, Captains 
Cook and Spicer, with two boats manned, went 
ashore at Roanoke to communicate the joyful intel- 
ligence of their arrival. We shall let Governor 
White, who was with the exploring company that 
landed, relate the adventures in his own language. 
His statement is as follows : — 

" At our putting from the ship, we commanded 
our master gunner to make ready two minions and 



130 GREAT SMOKE SEEN. 

a falcon, well loaden, and to shoot them off, with 
reasonable space between every shot, to the end 
that their reports might be heard to the place 
where we hoped to find some of our people. This 
was accordingly performed, and our two boats put 
off unto the shore. In the admiral's boat we 
sounded all the way, and found from our ship until 
we came within a mile of the shore, nine, eight, 
and seven fadome ; but before we were half way 
between our ships and the shore, we saw anoth- 
er great smoke to the south-west of Kindrikers 
Mounts ; we therefore thought good to go to that 
second smoke first. But it was much further from 
the harbor where we landed than we supposed it 
to be, so that we were very sore tired before we 
came to the smoke. But that which grieved us 
more was, that when we came to the smoke, we 
found no man, nor sign that any had been there 
lately, nor yet any fresh water in all this way to 
drink. Being thus wearied with this journey, we 
returned to the harbor, where we left our boats, 
who in our absence had brought their cask ashore 
for fresh water ; so we deferred our going to Ro- 
anoke until the next morning, and caused some of 
those sailors to dig in those sandy hills for fresh 
water, whereof we found very sufficient. That 
night we returned aboard with our boats and our 
whole company in safety. 



DANGEROUS LANDING. 131 

" The next morning, being the 17th of August, 
our boats and company were prepared again to go 
up to Roanoke ; but Captain Spicer had then sent 
his boat ashore for fresh water, by means whereof 
it was ten of the clock, aforenoon, before we put 
from our ships, which were then come to an anchor 
within two miles of the shore. The admiral's boat 
was half way toward the shore, when Captain 
Spicer put off from his ship. The admiral's boat 
first past the beach, but not without some danger 
of sinking; for we had a sea break into our boat 
which filled us half full of water ; but, by the will 
of God and careful steerage of Captain Cook, we 
came safe ashore, saving only that our furniture, 
victuals, match, and powder were much wet and 
spoiled. For at this time the wind blew at north- 
east, and direct into the harbor so great a gale, 
that the sea breake extremely on the bar, and the 
tide went very forcibly at the entrance. By that 
time our admiral's boat was hauled ashore, and 
most of our things taken out to dry. Captain 
Spicer came to the entrance of the breach with his 
mast standing up, and was half passed over, but 
by the rash and indiscreet steerage of Ralph Skin- 
ner, his master's mate, a very dangerous sea break 
into their boat, and overset them quite. The men 
kept the boat, some in it, and some hanging on it, 
but the next sea set the boat on ground, where it 



132 BOAT WRECKED. — LIVES LOST. 

beat so that some of them were forced to let go 
their hold, hoping to wade ashore ; but the sea 
still beat them down, so that thej could neither 
stand nor swim, and the boat, twice or thrice, was 
turned the keel upward, w^hereon Captains Spicer 
and Skinner hung until they sunk and were seen 
no more. But four, that could swim a little, kept 
themselves in deeper water, ^ and were saved by 
Captain Cook's means, who, so soon as he saw 
their oversetting, stripped himself, and four other 
that could swim very well, and with all haste pos- 
sible, rowed unto them, and saved four. They 
were eleven in all, and seven of the chiefest were 
drowned, whose names were Edward Spicer, Ralph 
Skinner, Edward Kelly, Thomas Bevis, Hance, the 
surgeon, Edward Kelborne, Robert Coleman. This 
mischance did so much discomfort the sailors, that 
they were all of one mind not to goe any farther to 
seek the planters. But in the end, by the com- 
mandment and persuasion of me and Captain Cook, 
they prepared the boats ; and seeing the captain 
and me so resolute, they seemed much more willing. 
Our boats and all things fitted again, we put off 
from Hatorask, being the number of nineteen per- 
sons in both boats; but before we could get to the 
place where our planters were left, it was so ' ex- 
ceeding dark, that vre overshot the place a quarter 
of a mile ; there we espied, towards the north end 



A CALL, BUT NO ANSWER. 133 

of the island, the light of a great fire through the 
woods, to the which we presently rowed. When 
we came right over against it, we let fall our grap- 
nel near the shore, and sounded with a trumpet a 
call, and afterwards many familiar English tunes 
of songs, and called to them friendly ; but we had 
no answer ; we therefore landed at daybreak, and 
coming to the fire, we found the grass and sundry 
rotten trees burning about the place. From hence 
we went through the woods to that part of the 
island directly over against Dasamongwepeuk, and 
from thence we returned by the water side, round 
about the north point of the island, until we came 
to the place where I left our colony in the year 
1586. In all this way, we saw, in the sand, the 
print of the savages' feet, of two or three sorts, 
trodden the night ; and as we entered up the sandy 
bank, upon a tree, in the very brow thereof, were 
curiously carved these fair Roman letters, C R O ; 
which letters presently we knew to signify the 
place where I should find the planters seated, ac- 
. cording to a secret token agreed upon between 
them and me, at my last departure from them, 
which was, that in any ways they should not fail 
to write, or carve on the trees or posts of the doors, 
the name of the place where they should be 
seated ; for at my coming alway, they were pre- 
pared to remove from Roanoke fifty miles into the 
12 



134 ROANOKE ABANDONED. 

main. Therefore, at my departure from them in 
an. 1587, I willed them, that if they should happen 
to be distressed in any of those places, that then 
they should carve over the letters or name a cross 
-j- in tliis form ; but we found no such sign of 
distress. And having well considered of this, we 
passed toward the place where they were left in 
sundry houses ; but we found the houses taken 
down, and the place very strongly enclosed with a 
high palisado of great trees, with cortynes and 
flankers, very fort-like, and one of the chief trees 
or posts at the right side of the entrance had the 
bark taken off, and five foot from the ground, in 
fair capital letters, was graven CROATOAN, with- 
out any cross or sign of distress ; this done, we 
entered into the palisado, where we found many 
bars of iron, two pigs of lead, four iron fowlers, 
iron sacker-shot and such like heavy things, thrown 
in here and there, almost overgrown with grass 
and weeds. From thence, we went along by the 
water side towards the point of the creek, to see 
if we could find any of their boats or pinnace ; 
but we could perceive no sign of them, nor any of 
the last falcons and small ordinance which were left 
with them at my departure from them. At our 
return from the creek, some of our sailors, meeting 
us, told us, that they had found where divers chests 
had been hidden and long since digged up again 



BURIED GOODS DUG UP. 



135 



and broken up, and much of the goods in them 
spoiled and scattered about, but nothing left of 
such things as the savages knew any use of unde- 
faced. Presently, Captain Cook and I went to the 
place, which was in the end of an old trench made 
two years past by Captain Amidas, where we found 
five chests that had been carefully hidden of the 
planters, and of the same chests, three were my 
own, and about the place many of my things, 
spoiled and broken, and my books torn from the 




Finding Goods. 



covers, the frames of some of my pictures and 
maps rotten and spoiled with rain, and my armor 



136 WATER ABANDONED. 

almost eaten through with rust. This could be no 
other but the deed of the savages, our enemies at 
Dasamongwepeuk, who had watched the departure 
of our men to Croatoan ; and as soon as they were 
departed, digged up every place where they sus- 
pected any thing to be buried ; but although it 
much grieved me to see such spoil of my goods, 
yet, on the other side, I greatly joyed that I had 
safely found a certain token of their safe being at 
Croatoan, which is the place where Manteo was 
born, and the savages of the island our friends. 

«' When we had seen in this place so mucli as we 
could, we returned to our boats, and departed from 
the shore towards our ships with as much speed as 
we could, for the weather began to overcast, and 
very likely that a foul and stormy night would 
ensue. Therefore the same evening, with much 
danger and labor, we got ourselves aboard, by 
which time the wind and seas were so greatly 
risen, that we doubted our cables and anchors 
would scarcely hold until morning. Wherefore the 
captain caused the boat to be manned with five 
lusty men, who could swim all well, and sent them 
to the little island on the right hand of the harbor, 
to bring aboard six of our men who had filled our 
cask with fresh water. The boat the same night 
returned aboard with our men, but all our casks 
ready filled they left behind, unpossible to be had 



BAD WEATHER AND SCARCE VICTUALS. 137 

aboard without danger of casting away both men 
and boats ; for this night proved very stormy and 
foul. 

*' The next morning, it was agreed by the cap- 
tain and myself, with the master and others, to 
weigh anchor and go for the place at Croatoan, 
where our planters were, for that then the wind 
was good for that place, and also to leave that 
cask with fresh water on shore in the island till 
our return. So then they brought the cable to 
the capstan ; but when the anchor was almost 
apeak, the cable broke, by means whereof we lost 
another anchor, wherewith we drove so fast into 
the shore, that we were forced to let fall a third 
anchor, which came so fast home, that the ship 
was almost aground by Kenrics' Mounts, so that 
we were forced to let slip the cable, end for end. 
And if it had not chanced that we had fallen into 
a channel of deeper water, closer by the shore than 
we accounted of, we could never have gone clear 
of the point that lyeth to the southward of Ken- 
rick's Mounts. Being thus clear of some dangers, 
and gotten into deeper waters, but not without 
some loss, for we had but one cable and anchor 
left us of four, and the weather grew to be fouler 
and fouler, our victuals scarce, and our cask and 
fresh water lost, it was therefore determined that 
we should go for St. John or some other island to 
12* 



138 UNFORTUNATE DECISION. 

the southward for fresh water ; and it was farther 
purposed, that if we could any ways supply our 
wants of victuals and other necessaries, either at 
Hispaniola, St. John, or Trinidad, that then we 
should continue in the Indies all the winter follow- 
ing, with hope to make two rich voyages of one, 
and at our return to visit our countrymen at Vir- 
ginia. Tlie captain and the whole company in 
the admiral (with my earnest petitions) thereunto 
agreed, so that it rested only to know what the 
master of the Moonlight, our consort, would do 
herein. But when we demanded them if they 
would accompany us in that new determination, 
they alledged that their weak and leak ship was 
not able to continue it ; wherefore the same night 
we parted, leaving the Moonlight to go directly for 
England, and the admiral set his course for Trin- 
idad." 

Snch is the account, as given by one of the 
prominent actors on the occasion, and who, in 
consequence of having been the governor of the 
colony which had been left in Virginia, would be 
likely to give as strong a defence of the course 
pursued by these visiting vessels as it would bear. 
And yet the final decision of this company, who 
had been sent out on purpose to find and relieve 
the long-neglected settlers, awakens within us great 
surprise. 



COLONISTS LEFT TO THEIR FATE. 139 

111 August, 1587, the colony which had landed 
upon the American shores for the purpose of found- 
ing " the city of Raleigh," consisted of eighty-nine 
men, seventeen women, and two children. One of 
the women was Governor White's own daughter, 
and one of the children was his grandchild, born in 
the land, and called Virginia Dare. They had 
been left in the midst of savages, some of whom 
were deadly hostile, whilst others, professing to be 
friendly, might have been deceitful, or might easily 
have had their friendship converted into hatred and 
enmity. In addition to these perils, they were 
unsupplied with suitable dwellings, and possessed 
but a small amount of provisions. At their earnest 
and unanimous desire, Governor White returned to 
England to obtain supplies as speedily as possible. 
Yet three years passed away before he returned. And 
when he came back, bringing with him what he 
must have supposed would be very acceptable sup- 
plies and very joyful intelligence, finding them 
absent from Roanoke, and marks indicating that 
they had gone to Croatan, an Indian town on the 
south part of Cape Lookout, instead of pushing on 
to the latter place to learn the condition of his 
countrymen and of his own daughter, or instead of 
seeking the natives, to ascertain from them what 
intelligence they could impart respecting the em- 
igrants, he turns the prow of his vessels, and 



140 TRADITION RESPECTING THE LOST COLONY. 

abandons the settlers to their fate. These colonists, 
who were to have built " the city of Raleigh," 
were never heard of again ! They were inex- 
cusably neglected and abandoned. It is left for 
the imagination to picture their bitter experience, 
their fears, their anxieties, their hopes of relief fol- 
lowed by painful disappointment, their conflicts 
with hunger, with the elements, with the climate, 
with disease, and with the barbarous savages, and 
finally, perhaps their lingering captivities, or their 
horrid deaths. 

It is somewhat singular, considering their number, 
and the fact that the country was repeatedly visited, 
that no further trace of these colonists was ever 
found. 

Sir Walter Raleigh sent out five expeditions in 
pursuit of them, but they could learn nothing con- 
cerning them. A tradition afterwards was found 
to exist among the Hatteras Indians, that, being 
discouraged by their long neglect at home, they 
finally took up their abode among them, and in 
process of time were amalgamated with them. 
The wigwams of the Indians furnished them with 
homes, and Indian damsels became their wives. 

This tradition is supposed to receive confirmation 
from the physical character of the tribe, in which 
the English and the Indian traits appear to be 
blended. But of this there is no certainty. 



ROANOKE AT PRESENT. 141 

Oblivion has drawn an impenetrable veil over their 
final history. 

Thus sadly terminated the early efforts to es- 
tablish a colony upon Roanoke. At the present 
time, this island is nearly destitute of inhabitants. 
Intrepid pilots and fearless wreckers, in whose ear 
the roaring winds and the rolling surf make sweet 
harmony, are the only occupants of the classic 
spot, where English graves were first dug, and 
English settlements first attempted, upon the soil 
of the United States. The indistinct ruins of the 
old fort, which still exist, furnish the only mon- 
ument of their enterprise and their sorrows. 



CHAPTER XII. 

The two Companies. — The obnoxious Charter. — Divine Provi- 
dence controlling' Nations. — Rev. Mr. Hunt. — His Troubles 
and Perseverance. — The Missionary Spirit. — Hot Springs. — 
Numerous Birds. — Captain John Smith. — His Popularity.— 
His Imprisonment. — The two Capes. — The Landing. — At- 
tack of the Savages. — Their Repulse. — Oysters. — Flowers. — 
Strawberries. — Point Comfort. — The Sealed Box. — Anxiety 
to open it. — Its Contents. — The Officers of the Colony.— 
Explanations. — A Place for a Settlement. 

After the unaccountable disappearance of the 
colonists at Roanoke, all efforts for the settlement 
of the country were suspended for twelve years. At 
the end of this period attempts began to be renewed. 
Several expeditions were fitted out to visit the new 
world for purposes of discovery and commercial en- 
terprise. But nothing permanent was effected until 
1606, when, through the earnest and long-continued 
efforts of Captain Bartholomew Gosnold, a company 
was formed and a charter obtained for the purpose 
of planting a settlement in Virginia. 

Among the prominent men of this company were 
Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, Richard 
Hackluyt, clerk, Edward Maria Wingfield, and Rev. 
Robert Hunt. These, with their coadjutors, consti- 
tuted what was called the southern company, to 
distinguish them from another, called the northern 



THE king's jealousy. 143 

company. By the charter, which was granted to 
these two companies, all that part of America em- 
braced within the latitudes from thirty-four to forty- 
five degrees north of the equator was divided into 
two parts, and to the southern or London company 
was granted the privilege of establishing a settlement 
any where between the degrees of thirty-four and 
forty-one. The other, sometimes called the Plym- 
outh company, were allowed to colonize any where 
between thirty-eight and forty-five degrees, provided 
there should be at least a hundred miles between 
the two settlements, for each was permitted to ex- 
tend fifty miles along the coast in each direction. 

The charter "which the king granted to the colo- 
nists was far from being liberal in its character, and 
contained two provisions which showed the jealous 
regard of the king for his own prerogatives, and 
which must have been extremely repulsive to the 
colonists. The first was the appointment of a coun- 
cil by the king, who were to be residents in England, 
and were to have the whole control of colonial af- 
fairs. They were to hold their office only so long 
as the king pleased ; the other provision was the 
appointment of local councils, who were to be resi- 
dents in the colonies, and who were to have the 
immediate oversight of afiairs, but who were to be 
subject to the home council in England. These 
also, like the former, were to be designated by the 



144 NATIONS CONTROLLED BY PROVIDENCE. 

king. The jealous monarch reserved to himself 
authority to control the legislation of the colonies, 
in their minute as well as their more important mat- 
ters — an arrangement which, as might have been 
foreseen, was a source of great irritation to the col- 
onies, and tended to alienate them from their " father- 
land." 

Obnoxious arrangements like these were the seeds 
of the American revolution and of our national in- 
dependence. It is interesting to observe how the 
despotic elements which were intermingled with 
our colonial institutions and laws were the means, 
ultimately, of working out the great problem of 
national freedom. The Ruler of nations, in over- 
seeing the beginnings of our history, allowed " the 
wrath of man " to throw in influences from which, 
at a later period. He would reap to himself a reve- 
nue of praise in the reaction of those influences by 
which would be overthrown the institutions they 
were originally designed to support, and others of a 
different character established in their place. 

It is equally true of nations as of men, that they 
are under the control of an all-wise, overruling Prov- 
idence ; that they know not to what results their 
own measures will lead ; that whilst their " hearts 
devise their way, the Lord directeth their steps." 
This truth received a very significant illustration in 
the history of the American colonies. 



TROUBLES OF REV. MR. HUNT. 145 

Notwithstanding the despotic provisions of the 
charter, it was adopted, and arrangements were made 
to plant settlements. The company which was 
formed for that purpose provided two ships, one of 
a hundred tons, the other of only forty ; to these 
were added a pinnace of only twenty tons. To this 
small fleet of very small vessels, the transportation 
of the colony was committed, under the direction of 
Captain Christopher Newport. 

Before they left England, the orders of the king's 
council were given them in a sealed box, which they 
were strictly forbidden to open until they arrived in 
Virginia. 

On the 19th of December, 1606, the fleet left 
England, conveying another colony of one hundred 
and five to Virginia, amongst whom were Wingfield, 
Bartholomew Gosnold, John Smith, Robert Hunt, 
preacher, George Percy, and John Ratcliffe. 

They had scarcely left port before they were met 
by head winds, by which they were kept within sight 
of England for six weeks. During this period. Rev. 
Mr. Hunt, their minister, was so seriously sick, that 
at times his recovery was regarded as exceedingly 
doubtful. To add to his troubles, some of the com- 
pany, who were little better than atheists, cast unjust 
imputations upon him. Yet, although some of the 
time, when in the Downs, he was but twenty miles 
from home, neither his severe sickness nor his unde- 
13 



146 THE MISSIONARY ELEMENT. 

served censures were sufficient to induce him to 
abandon the enterprise. Being a minister of Christ, 
we may suppose that he was actuated by a missionary 
spirit, and was anxious to disseminate the truths of 
rehgion among the barbarous natives of Virginia. 
For one object of King James in approving of this 
enterprise, as specified in the charter, dated April 10, 
1606, which he gave them, was that, by the provi- 
dence of God, " so noble a work might hereafter 
tend to the glory of his divine Majesty, in propagat- 
ing of Christian religion to such people as yet live 
in darkness and miserable ig^norance of the true 
knowledge and worship of God, and may, in time, 
bring the infidels and savages living in those parts 
to human civility, and to a settled and quiet gov- 
ernment." 

And in the instruction which he gave to the " king's 
council," who were to superintend the affairs of the 
colony, under date of November 20, 1606, occurs the 
following order : " That the true word and service 
of God be preached, planted, and used, not only in 
the said colonies, but also, as much as might be, 
among the savages bordering upon them, according 
to the rites and doctrine of the church of England." 

As, therefore, one object of this enterprise was 
the dissemination of the Christian religion among 
the rude and ignorant aborigines, nothing could deter 
Mr. Hunt, the clergyman of the company, from per- 



A NATURAL SPRING. 



147 



severing in the benevolent work which he had under- 
taken. It was well for the colonists that he resolved 
not to leave them, for " so many discontents did then 
arise that had he not with the water of patience, and 
godly exhortations, (but chiefly by his true devoted 
examples,) quenched those flames of envy and 
dissension," the expedition might have proved a 
failure. 







Cooking over a natural Spring. 



They pursued the old and tedious route by way 
of the West Indies ; they stopped to take in water 
at the Canary Islands ; at Dominico they opened 
trade with the savages ; at Guadaloupe they found a 
spring, the water of which was so hot that they 



148 CAPTAIN SiMITH IMPRISONED. 

boiled pork in it as well as over fire ; and on a small 
island called Monica they took from the bushes 
such great quantities of birds with their hands as to 
fill nearly two hogsheads in three or four hours. In 
Mevis, Mona, and the Virgin Isles they spent some 
time, where they fared well, being daily feasted upon 
tortoises, pelicans, parrots, fishes, and, as Captain 
Smith describes it, " a loathsome beast, like a croc- 
odile, called a gwayn." 

Captain John Smith, a man of much experience, 
and who had passed through a variety of novel and 
perilous adventures prior to his engaging in this at- 
tempt to found colonies in America, had become 
quite popular with the emigrants with whom he 
sailed. His popularity and influence excited the 
envy of the other leaders of the enterprise, who soon 
originated the unreasonable report that it was Smith's 
design to murder the council, usurp the government, 
and make himself king of Virginia; and that this 
could be proved by the confederates leagued with 
him, who were scattered in the three diff'erent ves- 
sels of the fleet. Smith, being a man of inde- 
pendent spirit, and conscious of innocence, took no 
pains to rebut these charges and conciliate his ene- 
mies. The consequence was, that when they arrived 
at the Canaries, the quarrel became so serious that 
Smith was seized, imprisoned, and kept in close con- 
finement thirteen weeks. 



FIRST LAND MADE. 149 

As they pursued their voyage towards the coast 
of America, they found that they had passed their 
reckoning by three days without finding land. This 
fact greatly disheartened the colonists, and even 
move(| Captain Ratcliffe, commander of the pinnace, 
to propose that they should give up the enterprise, 
and return to England. But a violent storm arose, 
and, contrary to all expectation, drove them to their 
desired port. 

The first land they made they called, in honor of 
the Prince of Wales, Cape Henry ; the opposite 
cape on the north they named Cape Charles, after 
the Duke of York, who afterwards became Ring 
Charles I. of England. These are the two lips of 
Chesapeake Bay, which opens like a great mouth 
towards the Atlantic. It was into this noble ex- 
panse of water that they were driven by the storm. 

After so long a voyage, as the men were anxious 
to set their feet once more upon terra jirma, the 
captain gave permission for thirty of them to land 
upon Cape Henry. As the boats left with their 
companies of men, they were narrowly watched by 
a party of savages who were concealed upon the 
shore. After a landing had been effected, and the 
men were indulging in whatever recreations they 
preferred, these savages seized a favorable opportu- 
nity, and, "creeping upon all fours from the hills 
like bears," made a sudden attack upon them, by 
13* 



150 OYSTERS AND STRAWBERRIES. 

which two of the English were seriously wounded. 
But the enemy were soon obliged to retire before 
the fire-arms of the immigrants. 

This warlike reception was neither adapted to 
allay fear nor inspire hope in the hearts of the col- 
onists ; yet it may have had a good effect in quick- 
ening their vigilance and increasing their caution in 
their subsequent interviews with the natives. 

In the bed of one of the rivers they found oysters 
in great abundance, many of which contained pearls. 
The land produced a variety of noble trees, inter- 
spersed with many beautiful and fragrant flowers. 
Strawberries also abounded, four times larger, and 
of much sweeter flavor, than those which were pro- 
duced in England. 

Finding a place for safe anchorage, " which put 
them in good comfort," they named it from that 
circumstance Point Comfort. 

Upon their first arrival, no little anxiety was felt 
to ascertain the contents of the sealed box which 
had been committed to them by the home govern- 
ment, with directions to open it within twenty-four 
hours after their arrival, and not till tlien. 

As it was, they found themselves upon the shores 
of the new world for the purpose of establishing a 
settlement, and as yet were without a governor, 
without a local council, and without laws for their 
guidance. It being known that the appointment of 



THE SEALED BOX. 151 

officers, and the rules by which they should admin- 
ister the affairs of the colony, were contained in that 
box, the company were solicitous to break its seal. 

Accordingly, on the evening of the day when the 
savages made their attack, this box was opened in 
due form, and the important documents contained 
therein read ; from which it was ascertained that 
the following persons were appointed the council : 
Edward Maria Wingfield, Bartholomew Gosnold, 
John Smith, Christopher Newport, John Ratcliffe, 
John Martin, and George Kendall. They were em- 
powered to choose a governor, and, with him, to 
manage the affairs of the settlement. 

After this, they were occupied till the 13th of 
May in making explorations, in order to find a suit- 
able place on which to establish their colony. 

They finally fixed upon a peninsula on the River 
Powhatan, about forty miles from its mouth, as a 
desirable location on which to commence operations. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Smith unjustly ejected from the Council. — Building of James- 
town. — Wing-field's Indiscretion. — Romantic Residence of the 
Indian King-. — Powhatan's Conduct. — Attack on Jamestown. — 
Prowling Indians. — Ambuscades. — Severe Toil. — Attempt to 
send Smith Home. — Captam Smith's Trial. — His honorable 
Acquittal. — President Wingfield convicted and sentenced. — 
Smith's Disinterestedness. — Good Influence of Mr. Hunt. — 
Smith admitted to the Council Board. — Singular Fact. — In- 
teresting Coincidence. 



After having selected a site for their new town, 
their next business was the election of a president 
of the colony. Their choice fell upon Edward 
Maria Wingfield. 

When it was found that Captain John Smith had 
been appointed one of the council, his enemies, by 
whom he had been kept for so long a time confined, 
were determined that he should not serve, and Mr. 
Wingfield, the president, delivered an address in 
which he assigned the reason for this decision. 

It does not redound to the honor of the new col- 
ony that one of their first measures was an act of 
disobedience to their instructions from the home 
government, by which one of their number was un- 
justly deprived of his rights. 

No time, however, was lost in discussing the wis- 
dom or folly of this first step of the local council. 



BUILDING OF JAMESTOWN. 153 

More important practical matters were pressed upon 
the attention of the immigrants. They were with- 
out houses and without sheher, except what was 
furnished by the friendly branches of the trees, or 
by projecting rocks. Dwelhngs were to be reared. 
Accordingly, the sound of the axe, the saw, and the 
hammer was soon heard echoing and reechoing 
among the trees of the forest. The council em- 
ployed themselves in planning a fort , others felled 
trees to make a clearing for their tents, in which 
they were to live till houses could be constructed. 
" Some provide clapbord to relade the ships ; some 
make gardens, some nets." * 

The town was called after his majesty. King of 
England, Jamestown, and Powhatan River, on which 
it stood, was changed to James River. 

Whilst engaged at their work, the colonists were 
often visited by the tawny natives, who conducted 
themselves in a peaceful manner, and appeared to 
be on friendly terms with these new strangers. To 
avoid exciting their suspicions and fears, the presi- 
dent would allow of no military exercise ; and he 
even went so far as to forbid the erection of any 
other fortification than such as could be made by 
the boughs of trees. It was not long, however, before 
he was convinced of his indiscretion. 

* Generall Historic of Virginia, by John Smith. 



154 CAPTAIN SMITH LIBERATED. 

After Captain Smith was liberated from his unjust 
confinement, though he was not allowed to act as 
councihiian, he was permitted, in company with 
Captain Newport and twenty others, to go in search 
of the head waters of the James River. He at once 
availed himself of the opportunity. For though he 
had been the subject of great unkindness, and knew 
that he had just grounds of complaint, still his in- 
terest in the welfare of the colony was not allowed 
to diminish. 

On this excursion they passed by several small 
Indian villages, and on the sixth day they arrived at 
a town of more importance than any they had pre- 
viously seen. It consisted of twelve houses, roman- 
tically situated on a hill which commanded a beau- 
tiful view of the surrounding country ; before them 
in the river were three islands covered with trees 
and shrubbery, and on the plains around were the 
cornfields of the villagers. 

This was the residence of the famous " emperor 
of the country," whose name was Powhatan, and is 
supposed to have been situated a short distance be- 
low the falls, near Richmond. To this point the 
river was found navigable, but the rapids with which 
they here met prevented farther advancement. They 
here took formal possession of the country in the 
name of King James. 

Powhatan received his visitors with the show of 



ATTACK ON JAMESTOWN. 155 

kindness, and manifested pleasure at the reception 
of a hatchet which was presented to him by Captain 
Newport. 

Throughout their entire route they experienced 
no other than kind treatment from all the Indians 
whom they met. 

But when they returned they found it had been 
far different with those whom they had left behind. 
During their absence the Indians had taken advan- 
tage of the unprotected state of the colony, and had 
attacked them, killing one boy and wounding seven- 
teen men. 

The president was now convinced of the folly of 
his policy, and made immediate preparations to de- 
fend himself from any similar attack. The fort was 
palisadoed ; the cannon were mounted, and the men 
were drilled in the use of arms and in mihtary ma- 
noeuvres. Dr. Simons, in his Account of the Pro- 
ceedings and Accidents of the Colony, says, " Had 
it not chanced a cross-bar shot from the ships struck 
down a bough from a tree, that caused them to 
retire, our men had been all slain, being securely all 
at work, and their arms in dry fats." 

The Indians were constantly prowling around the 
colonists, and seized every occasion to annoy them. 
Their assaults were numerous. And whenever the 
settlers went into the woods, or wandered along the 
shores of the river, they were liable to fall into an 



156 ATTEMPT TO SEND SMITH TO ENGLAND. 

ambush of the savages, who were frequently found 
lying in wait for this purpose, and be cut off. 

It required great labor and unceasing vigilance 
for this small company to resist their enemies by 
day, be on watch all night, cut down trees, relade 
the ships, build their houses, and prepare the ground 
for planting. 

When the time arrived for the vessels to return 
to England, it was proposed by some of the leaders 
of the enterprise, of whom President Wingfield was 
one of the chief, that they should send Captain Smith 
home to receive the censure of the king's council 
for the treasonable designs which they alleged against 
him, and for which they had kept him a prisoner 
thirteen weeks. It was pretended that this proposi- 
tion arose from their compassion towards Smith, as 
they professed to believe that his sentence would be 
milder there than though he were to be tried and 
punished by the colony. But the noble-minded, in- 
dependent prisoner was not the man to be wheedled 
out of his just rights by their artful policy, nor be- 
trayed by his own fears into an act of indiscretion. 
Being conscious of innocence, and deeply interested 
in the welfare of the colony, he loudly demanded a 
trial at once. He had no idea of allowing his jeal- 
ous enemies to put him out of the way by sending 
him across the Atlantic. He, therefore, insisted 
upon a trial on the spot. He came off victoriously ; 



SMITH S TRIUMPHANT VERDICT. 157 

for although many falsehoods were reported about 
him, he triumphantly disproved them all, and then 
exposed the villanous plots which had been laid by his 
opponents to secure his overthrow. The witnesses 
who were called to prove his guilt, instead of testi- 
fying against him, accused his persecutors ; the con- 
sequence was, that not only was Smith honorably 
acquitted, but President Wingfield, one of the most 
active in originating the false reports against him, 
and getting up this unjust prosecution, was himself 
convicted, and compelled to pay Smith a fine of a 
thousand dollars ; to do which he had to submit to 
the seizure of all his effects. 

Captain Smith, who was satisfied with the verdict 
of his own acquittal, had no disposition to avail him- 
self of the fine which had been awarded him ; he 
therefore, with his characteristic generosity, pre- 
sented it to the colony, to be added to their public 
property. 

After this administration of the law, the pious 
Mr. Hunt, the clergyman of the colony, added the 
peaceful influences of the gospel, and by his good 
doctrines and discreet exhortations succeeded in al- 
laying the animosities and strifes which their excited 
passions had engendered. He was also successful 
in securing the admission of Captain Smith to the 
board of councillors, from which, without just cause, 
he had been ejected. The next day they all par- 
14 



158 A SINGULAR CIRCUMSTANCE. 

took of the communion together in confirmation that 
peace and harmony were restored. 

It is a singular circumstance that Captain Smith, 
one of the strongest friends of the colony, should 
have been the first person tried for a crime, and 
Wingfield, the first president, should have been the 
first one to receive punishment. 

On the 15th of June the Indians voluntarily sued 
for peace. The same day Captain Newport, with 
the fleet, sailed for England, leaving one hundred 
persons at Jamestown to establish the first perma- 
nent settlement in the limits of the present Virginia. 

It is an interesting coincidence, that precisely the 
same number landed at Plymouth on the 22d of 
December, 1620.* The two colonies, who, during 
future years, were to have such great influence in 
the settlement of the whole country, in the estab- 
lisliment of free institutions, and the founding of one 
of the most enlightened, liberal, and powerful gov- 
ernments on earth, each consisted of a hundred 
persons. 

* Young's Chronicles. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Quaint Language. — The President's Selfishness. — Trials of the 
Planters. — Frequent Deaths. — The President's Imbecility. — 
Smith's Influence. —His Example of Industry. — Dwellings pro- 
vided. — Provisions scarce. — Smith searches the Country for 
Food. — Insulting Offers of the Savages. — Smith's Treatment 
of them. — Terrific Attack. — Peace and Provisions secured. — 
Bartering. — Smith censured. — Exploring Excursion. — Waste- 
fulness of the Planters. — Wingfield's Plot. — Its Detection and 
Prevention. — Abundance of Game. — Smith examines the 
Chickahominy River. — He leaves his Boat and takes to a 
Canoe. 

During the time that the vessels remained with 
them, the colonists were abundantly supplied with 
provisions. But when they departed, it was far oth- 
erwise. Simons, in his relation, quaintly says the 
reason was this : " Whilst the ships stayed, our al- 
lowance was somewhat bettered, by a daily propor- 
tion of biscuit, which the sailors would pilfer to sell, 
give, or exchange with us for money, sassafras, furs, 
or love. But when they departed, there remained 
neither tavern, beer house, nor place of relief but 
the common kettle. Had we been as free from all 
sins as gluttony and drunkenness, we might have 
been canonized for saints." 

But during this time of distress, the president had 
an abundance, by appropriating to his own use the 



IGO SUFFERINGS OF THE COLONY. 

Stores of the colony. Whilst he was living luxu- 
riously upon oatmeal, sack, oil, aqua vitae, spirits, 
beef, and eggs, the people were reduced to the com- 
mon kettle, which contained " half a pint of water 
and as much barley boiled with water for a man a 
day, and this, having fried some twenty-six weeks in 
the ship's hold, contained as many worms as grains ; 
so that we might truly call it so much bran than 
corn : our drink was water, our lodgings castles in 
the air." Occasionally they were favored with crabs 
and sturgeons. 

In addition to this wretched diet, they were sub- 
jected to severe labor in cutting, carrying, and plant- 
ing their palisadoes and performing other necessary 
work under the rays of a burning sun. The conse- 
quence was, that disease set in and made sad havoc 
among them. One after another they dropped into 
the silent grave, filHng the hearts of their survivors 
with sorrow, and opening the fountain of their tears, 
until, by September, one half of their number had 
died, among whom was Captain Gosnold. 

The president, who seems to have been a very 
unsuitable person to have the management of the 
affairs of the plantation, being detected in arranging 
a plan to escape to England in the pinnace which 
had been left behind, and thus leave the colonists to 
their fate, so excited the whole company that they 
deposed him, and appointed Captain John Ratcliife 
in his place. 



SMITH ENCOURAGES THE COLONY. 161 

As Newport had returned, Gosnold deceased, 
Wiiagfield and Kendall, his accomplices, in disgrace, 
and their vacancies in the council not supplied, 
the whole authority of the council was vested in 
Ratcliffe, the new president, Martin, and Smith. As 
the first two did not enjoy to any high degree the 
esteem and confidence of the planters, as they were 
not reliable for wise counsels in times of peril, nor 
remarkable for their industry in time of peace, 
every thing at first was left to the management of 
Smith, who proved himself fully adequate to the 
task. 

By kind persuasions and fair promises, sustained 
by his own example, he succeeded in setting the 
men to work, who, in view of their discouraging 
circumstances, were disposed to indolence. Some 
began to mow grass with which to make a covering 
for their houses, others to bind thatch, others to con- 
struct houses, and others still to cover them with 
thatch ; Smith, in the mean while, bearing the great- 
est amount of labor as his own share, so that in a 
short time he provided the most of them with dwell- 
ings, though, with his usual self-forgetful ness, he 
reared none for himself. 

As their stock of provisions was now nearly ex- 
hausted, it became necessary to make arrangements 
to obtain a fresh supply. Accordingly, Captain 
Smith, with a company of six or seven others, 
14* 



162 SMITH SEARCHING FOR FOOD. 

resolved to penetrate into the country, open trade 
with the Indians, and from them procure, if possible, 
enough to meet the immediate wants of the colony. 
He was fully aware of the difficulty and responsi- 
bility of the undertaking. The great number of the 
Indians, his ignorance of the language, the want of 
a sufficient force, clothing for his men, and other 
necessaries, furnished great impediments, but not 
enough to divert him from his purpose. 

His first visit was to an Indian settlement called 
Kecoughtan, near the present location of Hampton. 
As these wily savages were acquainted with the des- 
titution of the colonists, they received them with 
most provoking derision. They offered them, in a 
scornful manner, a handful of corn or a small piece 
of bread for their swords and muskets, and in like 
proportion for their clothing and other articles, but 
manifested no disposition to enter upon the sober 
business of trade. Such conduct was not at all 
adapted to the character of Smith. He was not a 
man to be trifled with. Finding that nothing could 
be obtained from these savages by traffic, nor cour- 
tesy, he adopted other and more stringent measures, 
as in his judgment the case required, although in so 
doing he exceeded his commission. He discharged 
his muskets among them, which created such a panic 
that they all betook themselves to ffight, and hid 
among the trees of a neighboring woods. 



smith's management of the INDIANS. 163 

Taking advantage of their absence, he ran his 
boat ashore, and then marched up to their wigwams, 
where he found large quantities of corn, which his 
hungry men were so eager to seize that it was with 
difficulty he restrained them from immediately load- 
ing their boat with the coveted food. Smith opposed 
this, because he did not want to irritate the Indians 
by robbing them, and because he believed they would 
rally in the woods where they had now fled, and 
would return to the attack. He was not mistaken ; 
for in a short time a movement was discovered 
among the trees. Dusky forms were seen darting 
to and fro, as if preparations were making for some 
kind of a demonstration. Presently some sixty or 
seventy issued from the woods, with their OTcce borne 
before them. This was an idol made of the skins 
of animals, stuffed with moss, rudely painted, and 
ornamented with chains and copper jewelry. They 
probably took it with them to battle, with the expec- 
tation that it would protect them in the conflict, and 
secure to them the victory. 

These Indians were painted in the most frightful 
manner, as if by their mere appearance they would 
strike terror into their enemies. Some were colored 
black, some red, some white, and some were varie- 
gated. They came out of the woods in square order, 
dancing, with many strange gesticulations, and yell- 
ing in the most hideous manner. It required great 



164 TERRIFIC SCENE. 

firmness to remain unmoved in the presence of such 
brutahzed human beings, with such a combination 
of frightful figures, violent warlike gestures, and 
horrid bowlings. But Captain Smith, during his 
eventful life, had had too much experience to be ter- 
rified now by paint, capers, and sound. As the 
savages, armed with bows, arrows, targets, and 
clubs, advanced to the attack, the English poured 
into them a volley of musketry loaded with pistol 
shot, which produced such an effect that down fell 
their idol, Dagon-like, to the ground, and down fell 
a number of the Indians, who found that from little 
holes mysteriously made in their bodies by the fire 
weapons of their enemies, another color was flowing 
forth, mingling with the paint with which they were 
smeared. Those who were not wounded retreated 
mth all speed to the woods, and sought shelter be 
hind the largest trees. 

The loss of their idol they regarded as a great 
misfortune, and being extremely unwilling that it 
should be carried away, they sent one of their 
quiyoughhasoucks^ or priests, with proposals of 
peace, to redeem it. Captain Smith received this 
messenger kindly, and gave him to understand that 
if they would send six of their company unarmed, 
and load his boat with provisions, he would not only 
restore to them their much-prized Okee^ but would 
become their friend, and give them beads, copper, 



PEACE AND BARTER. 165 

and hatchets. The priest returned and communi- 
cated the result of his interview to the Indians, who 
regarded the proposition as Uberal, and immediately 
went to work to comply with the terms proposed. 
Six unarmed savages were soon seen bringing to the 
boat venison, turkeys, wild fowl, bread, and other 
acceptable articles, for which Smith gave in exchange 
beads, pieces of copper, and hatchets. Peace being 
thus established, the savages commenced again sing- 
ing and dancing ; but though their music and motions 
were as uncouth as ever, they were of a different 
character from those in which they indulged previous 
to the conflict. Instead of expressing threats and 
defiance, they were of a peaceful nature, and were 
designed as an expression of their friendship. This 
was continued until the English departed. 

Smith now returned, with his boat well laden, to 
the starving colonists, who were rejoiced to welcome 
him and partake of his abundance. Encouraged by 
the success of this first excursion. Smith projected 
others, during one of which he discovered a tribe of 
Indians called the Chickahominy. It was not long 
before he ascertained that the supplies which he, 
with so much labor and peril, obtained, were, during 
his absence, shamelessly wasted. Such was the 
imbecility of the president, and Martin being sick, 
that when Smith was absent, the colony had no 
suitable head. Property was squandered, dissensions 



166 wingfield's escape defeated. 

ensued, and every man did what was right in his 
own eyes. 

Wingfield and Kendall, who had not recovered 
from their disgrace, took advantage of Smith's ab- 
sence to concoct a plan of escape, by taking the 
pinnace and privately fleeing to England. They 
had got on board, and were about to sail, when 
Smith unexpectedly returned, and made a discovery 
of the plot. He at once forbade their going ; but 
finding them disposed to disregard his authority, he 
turned upon them the cannon of the fort, and threat- 
ened to sink them if they did not desist. Unde- 
terred by his threats, they persevered in their at- 
tempt, when he opened upon them a fire of musketry 
and cannon, and compelled them to abandon their 
project. In the engagement, Captain Kendall was 
slain. 

Notwithstanding this exhibition of Smith's firm- 
ness, it was not long before the president, John Rat- 
cliff*e, and Captain Archer were detected in making 
a similar attempt, which, however, through Smith's 
adroitness, was effectually defeated. 

Food being constantly needed. Smith went on a 
trading voyage to the Chickahominy River, to cer- 
tain Indians whom he had promised to visit. When 
he arrived, he found that he had been expected, for 
hundreds of the natives were waiting with large 
baskets full of corn to open trade with him. 



GAME IN WINTER. 167 

" And now," says Simons, " the winter approach- 
ing, the rivers became so covered with swans, geese, 
ducks, and cranes, that we daily feasted with good 
bread, Virginia peas, pompions, and putchamins, 
fish, fowl, and divers sorts of wild beasts as fat as 
we could eat them ; so that none of our tuftaffaty 
humorists desired to go for England. But our com- 
edies never endured long without a tragedy." 

Some among the planters, so far from being grate- 
ful to Captain Smith for his unwearied efforts to 
supply their wants and promote the welfare of the 
plantation, indulged in complaints against him, be- 
cause he had not discovered the sources of the Chick- 
ahominy River. With these complaints the council 
sympathized. 

It was one of the orders of the home government 
that some time should be spent in making discov- 
eries, and especially to follow up the branches of 
rivers, to ascertain whether they originated in lakes, 
or sprang from mountains, giving the preference to 
those which tended to the north-west. The object 
of this was to discover, if possible, a passage, by 
water, across the continent to the North Pacific 
Ocean. 

Smith, ever ready for new adventures, knowing 
these orders, and being stimulated by the complaints 
of the colonists, set out again to reach, if possible, 
the source of the Chickahominy. He had not 



168 SMITH IN A CANOE. 

proceeded far before his progress was obstructed by 
large trees, which had fallen into the water and 
choked the passage. His oars becoming useless, he 
employed his axe, and with great labor cut a canal 
through the branches, and passed up as far as his 
boat would go, where he fortunately found a large 
bay. This was just what he wanted ; so anchoring 
his boat in this bay at such a distance from the shore 
as to be out of reach of the Indians' arrows, and 
orderino; his men whom he left in her not to leave 
the boat for any excursions on land, he took two 
Englishmen and two natives, and pushed farther on 
in a light canoe. The singular adventures with 
which he met will be narrated in the next chapter. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Disobeying Orders. — Its painful Consequence. — Fate of two 
Canoe Men. — Indian Skill in Trailing. — A live Shield. — An 
Accident. — Smith captured. — His Policy. — Exhibits a Pock- 
et Compass. — Gives a Lecture. — Great Astonishment. — 
Smith sentenced to die. — His Reprieve. — Triumphal Pro- 
cession. — How Smith is fed. — He suffers from Cold. — Grat- 
itude in an Indian. — Revenge. — Reward offered for Trea- 
son. — Mysterious Note. — Indians visit Jamestown. — • Their 
Reception. — Effect of the Note. — Finding of Toys. — Smith 
publicly exhibited. 

After Smith and his four companions had dis- 
appeared in the distance, the men who were left 
behind found the protection of the boat to be very 
monotonous business. Instead of sitting still in an 
anchored barge far off from the shore, gazing upon 
the rocks and trees which skirted the bay, or 
watching the slowly changing shadows as they 
marked the sun's decline, they desired active em- 
ployment. They longed for an adventure of some 
kind for the sake of variety. Therefore, in viola- 
tion of their captain's orders, they put into the 
shore and landed. This was an unfortunate move, 
for it gave the savages, who, probably, had been 
in concealment, observing all their movements, an 
opportunity to waylay them, by which one of them, 
15 



170 INDIAN CRUELTY. 

whose name was George Cassen, was taken prisoner, 
and all of them came near being cut oiF. 

Finding themselves in possession of one of the 
whites, the Indians compelled him to tell where 
Captain Smith had gone, and then cruelly put him 
to death. After this, they divided themselves into 
separate bands, and taking different directions, 
went in pursuit of him. 

Smith had ascended the stream about twenty 
miles farther, when, finding it impossible for his ca- 
noe to advance beyond that point, he left it among 
the marshes, in the care of the two Englishmen 
Robinson and Emery, and went in pursuit of game 
with which to furnish them all with meat. During 
his absence, the Indians discovered the two English- 
men, being probably guided to the place of their 
concealment by a fire which they had kindled, the 
smoke of which had betrayed them. They imme- 
diately sent upon them a shower of arrows, and 
slew them, and then went in search of Smith. 

In all probability, if Englishmen had set out in 
pursuit of Smith, it would have been a long time 
before they would have found him, if indeed they 
had succeeded at all. But these Indians, from 
long practice in following the trail of their enemies 
through forests, fields, and swamps, had become 
so expert, that they could pursue them with great 
certainty where the eye of a white man could 



SMITH S LIVING SHIELD. 



171 



discover no traces whatever. The leaning of the 
grass ; the slight bending of a bough out of its 
natural direction ; an occasional broken twig, or 
fresh-torn leaves, which an inexperienced eye would 
not notice, — would furnish them with positive ev- 
idence of the course which had been taken. 

After the Indians had left the dead bodies of the 
two men whom they had murdered, it was not 
long before they discovered Smith. Finding him- 
self in danger of being slain by the arrows which 




Smith and his living Shield. 



they poured upon him, he, with his usual presence 
of mind, tied his Indian guide to his arm with his 
garter, that he might use him as a shield. Then 



172 SMITH CAPTURED BY THE INDIANS. 

loading his gun as rapidly as he could, he returned 
their fire with fatal effect. In tlie mean time, with 
his living shield tied to his arm, he endeavored to 
retreat to his canoe. The savages followed him ; 
but as he could send his bullets farther than they 
could their arrows, they were afraid to approach 
within arrow shot. With such sure aim did he fire, 
that he killed three of his pursuers, and wounded a 
number of others. He was now in a fair way to 
make his escape. But whilst slowly retreating to 
where he left liis men, and watching more closely 
the movements of his enemies than his own foot- 
steps, he suddenly fell into a pit or soft morass, 
from which he found it impossible to extricate him- 
self. His enemies, who had seen the fearful havoc 
of his gun, were afraid to approach him, though he 
was now floundering in the mud. They therefore 
kept at a distance, until Smith, finding himself al- 
most perishing from the cold and wet, threw from 
him his gun, and in that manner indicated to them 
that he ceased resistance, and yielded himself a 
prisoner. They now approached, drew him half 
dead from the mire, and led him to the fire, where 
the painful scene was presented him of his two 
companions lying where he left them, but now cold, 
stiflT, and lifeless. 

Though he was now fully in their power, they 
warmed him, and rubbed his chilled limbs in order 
to restore him to his usual sensibility. 



WONDER EXCITED BY A COMPASS. 173 

Smith, being a man of great sagacity, and know- 
ing also something of the Indian character, was 
aware that if he exhibited the least fear, he would 
lose all respect in their eyes, and be more likely to 
receive a speedy sentence ; but if, on the other 
hand, he could increase their reverence for him, it 
might operate in his favor. The band by whom he 
had been taken numbered three hundred, and were 
under the command of a distinguished chief, named 
Opechancanough. 

Without exhibiting the least alarm, Smith boldly 
asked for their chief. Opechancanough being point- 
ed out to him, he made a virtue of necessity, and 
presented to him a round, ivory, double compass, 
with the needle covered with a glass. This was 
an instrument having a round dial, with all the 
points of the mariner's compass marked upon it, 
and in the centre a delicate, steel, magnetized 
needle, poised upon a pivot, which, when at rest, 
would always point to the north. Over this was 
placed a crystal like that belonging to a watch. 
Its peculiar powers were explained to the chief. 
Smith turned it around in different directions, and 
then showed them how the needle would always 
turn back and quietly point to the north. They 
were highly amused at its mysterious movements; 
but when they put their finger down to touch it, 
they were amazed that they could not reach it, 
15* 



174 smith's lecture. 

the glass keeping them off. That they could so 
plainly see it, and yet not be able to touch it, was 
to them very marvellous. Smith, hoping to keep 
the advantage which he had gained over them in 
this diversion of their thoughts from his own death, 
continued to expatiate upon the wonderful proper- 
ties of the needle, some of which were evidently 
the product of his own imagination. " He demon- 
strated, by that globe-like Jewell, the roundness of 
the earth and skies, the sphere of the sun, moon, 
and stars, and how the sun did chase the night 
round about the world continually ; the greatness 
of the land and sea, the diversity of nations, 
variety of complexions, and how we were to them 
antipodes, and many other such like matters, at 
which they all stood as amazed with admiration." 

Although, by this ingenious device of Smith, 
they might have had their reverence for him in- 
creased, and might have regarded him as a greater 
conjurer than any among themselves, yet their 
desire for his death was nowise diminished. He 
had slain three of their number and wounded sev- 
eral others with a weapon more marvellous than 
was his needle. They were thirsting for his blood, 
and were resolved to have it. 

Within an hour, arrangements for his execution 
were made. They bound him to a tree to prevent 
his escape, and then arranged themselves about 



SINGULAR PROCESSION. 175 

him with their weapons, prepared to shoot him. 
All things being ready, and when in a few minutes 
he would have been riddled with their arrows, 
their chief held up Smith's compass in his hand as 
a signal to them. The effect was electric. They 
all at once cast their weapons to the ground, and 
abandoned the intention of slaying him. They 
then released him from the tree, loosened the cords 
by which he was bound, and led him in a triumphal 
manner to Orapaks, an Indian town, whose location 
was a few miles north-east of the present city of 
Richmond. 

" The order in conducting him was thus : Draw- 
ing themselves all in file, the king, in the midst, 
had all their pieces and svrords borne before him^ 
Captain Smith was led after him by three great 
savages, holding him fast by each arm, and on each 
side six went in file with their arrows nocked. 
But arriving at the town, all the women and chil- 
dren staring to behold him, the soldiers, all in file, 
performe the form of a bissom so well as could be, 
and on each flank, officers as Serjeants to see them 
keep their orders. A good time they continued 
this exercise, and then cast themselves in a ring, 
dancing in such several postures, and singing and 
yelling out such hellish notes and screeches, being 
strangely painted, every one his quiver of arrows, 
and at his back a club ; on his arm a fox or an 



176 SMITH WELL GUARDED. 

otter's skin, or some such matter for his vambrace ; * 
their heads and shoulders painted red, with oil and 
pocones t mingled together, which scarlet-like color 
made an exceeding handsome show ; his bow iu 
his hand, and the skin of a bird, with her wings 
abroad, dried, tied on his head, a piece of copper, a 
white shell, a long feather, with a small rattle grow- 
ing at the tails of their snakes tied to it, or some 
such like toy. All this while. Smith and the king 
stood in the midst, guarded, as before is said ; and 
after three dances, they all departed. Smith they 
conducted to a long house, where thirty or forty 
tall fellows did guard him, and ere long more bread 
and venison were brought him than would have 
served twenty men. I think his stomach at that 
time was not very good. What he left they put 
in baskets and tied over his head. About midnight, 
they set the meat again before him. All this time, 
not one of them would eat a bit with him, till the 
next morning they brought him as much more, and 
then did they eat all the old, and reserved the new, 
as they had done the other, which made him think 
they would fat him to eat him." 

This was certainly no desirable condition to be 
in. The idea of being bountifully furnished with 

* Vambrace is the name of that piece of armor which protects 
the arm below the elbow, 
t The berries of pokeweed. 



PLEASING INCIDENT. 177 

provisions only to be fatted like a stalled ox, in 
order to make a better meal for others, was enough 
to take away one's appetite. No wonder, therefore, 
that Simons says, " I think his stomach at that time 
was not very good." 

Though Smith had a plentiful supply of provis- 
ions, he was short oiF for clothes, and it being an 
unusually severe winter, he suffered not a little 
from cold. 

It will be pleasant here to narrate an incident, 
which, whilst it will illustrate the benefits of kind- 
ness, will also show that the native aborigines of 
this country were not wholly insensible to emotions 
of gratitude ; that, with all their bloodthirsty cru- 
elty, they knew how to reward a favor. 

When Smith first arrived in Virginia, he was 
visited by an Indian named Maocassater, whom he 
received with kindness, and to whom he gave some 
green beads and other ornaments, which the visitor 
highly valued. Smith thought no more of it. He 
might, perhaps, have entirely forgotten it. Not so 
with Maocassater. The unexpected kindness had 
made an impression upon his mind too deep to be 
erased ; and now that an opportunity was offered 
to return it, he cheerfully availed himself of it. 
Seeing that Smith was poorly clad, and was suffer- 
ing from cold, he generously took off his own 
warm robe of skins, and gave it to the shivering 



178 



GRATITUDE AND REVENGE. 



captive, that with it he might make himself more 
comfortable. This kindness to a helpless prisoner, 
who had previously conferred a favor, ought not to 
be forsfotten. Let the name of Maocassater have 
honorable mention so long as the story of Smith is 
remembered. 




Indian Gratitude. 



Two days after this, an attempt was made upon 
the life of Smith, by an Indian whose son was sick. 
Whether this father supposed that Smith was the 
cause of his son's sickness, or whether he was one 
of those who had been wounded by Smith in the 
battle, it is now impossible to tell. The murderous 
attempt being unsuccessful. Smith was led, probably 



TREASON PROPOSED TO SMITH. 179 

at his own request, to the couch of the dying man. 
After examining the symptoms of the patient, he 
told the friends standing around that he had a 
medicine at Jamestown which would cure him. 

Either because they disbelieved his assertion, or 
because they were fearful of losing him, they re- 
fused to let Smith go for the medicine. They were 
now busily engaged in making preparations for an 
attack upon Jamestown, and they desired Smith to 
give his advice and assistance in the undertaking, 
promising that, in case of his compliance, they 
would spare his life, grant him his liberty, give him 
abundance of land to cultivate, and as many women 
for his wives and servants as he should desire. 
Though this was a very tempting offer. Captain 
Smith was not at all disposed to accept of it ; yet 
he desired to avail himself of the sickness of this 
Indian patient to get word to the colony of his own 
condition, and of the evil design of the Indians. 

As the natives were destitute of books and of a 
written language, they were ignorant of the fact 
that messages could be sent by means of notes. 
Smith knew that if he could only persuade some 
of them to take a letter to Jamestown, he could 
communicate his own captivity, and put the colony 
on their guard against surprise, without his captors' 
knowing what he did. He therefore informed the 
Indians, that if they would go to Jamestown for 



180 A MYSTERIOUS PAPER. 

him, they would obtain many toys and articles 
which would be of use to them. Some of them 
agreed to comply with his request. He then told 
the messengers that they must take with them a 
piece of paper, on which he would make some 
crooked marks; that when they arrived at James- 
town, the English would sally out against them, and 
if they left the paper with the mysterious marks 
upon it where the English could see it, they would 
find soon after, in a certain place which he desig- 
nated, a variety of articles, which he ordered them 
to brino- to him. 

The messengers started upon their journey in 
the severest season of the year. The waters were 
locked in ice, and the ground covered with snow. 
It was a painful journey. When they arrived at 
Jamestown, the colonists, regarding them as en- 
emies, salhed out upon them, as Smith had said. 
The Indians fled ; but in so doing they dropped the 
paper covered with the cabalistic marks where 
they supposed the English would find it. This 
paper contained a statement of Captain Smith's 
captivity, and of the intended attack upon the 
colony. It also advised the colonists to fire off the 
cannon, and make other imposing warlike demon- 
strations in the presence of the messengers, so as 
to give them a salutary fright, and closed with the 
request that they would conceal various articles, 



SMITH S PREDICTION TRUE. 181 

which he named, in a certain specified place, in 
order that his messengers might obtain them and 
bring them to him. 

After the Indians had dropped the letter and fled, 
they carefully concealed themselves for the rest of 
the day. But when the sun had gone down, and 
the dark shadows of night had settled upon hill 
and valley, they cautiously left their place of con- 
cealment, and with noiseless steps, and many a 
furtive glance cast into the deep gloom which sur- 
rounded them, they stealthily approached the spot 
which Smith had designated, and there, to their 
great surprise, they found the articles for him and 
the toys for themselves, just as he had predicted. 

They now retraced their steps for home, where 
they arrived after three days' absence. They there 
related, to the great astonishment of their hearers, 
all their adventures, and confirmed every thing 
that Smith had previously said respecting the great 
guns and explosive mines, and the ability of the 
colony to repel any assault the Indians might make. 
They dwelt with special interest upon the myste- 
rious appearance of the promised articles in the 
very spot described by their captive. As all these 
things were so inexplicable to these ignorant red 
men of the forest, their superstitious fears disposed 
them to believe, either that their captive practised 
divination, or else that that leaf with the strange 
16 



182 THE CAPTIVE EXHIBITED. 

marks upon it could speak. In no other way could 
they account for the wonderful results which had 
been produced. 

After the successful termination of Smith's mes- 
sage to .Jamestown, the Indians carried him about 
the country, and exhibited him to the various 
aboriginal tribes who dwelt along the line of the 
Rappahannoc and Patawomek (Potomac) Rivers, 
to whom he was a great curiosity. After a circuit 
of many miles, they finally returned with him to 
Pamaunkee, the residence of the chief Opechan- 
canough, which is supposed to have been near the 
fork of York River. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Sing'ular Costume. — Mysterious Ceremony. —Its Explanation. — 
Smith favored. — Visits Opitchapam. — Indian Beg-gars. — 
Apprehensions of Danger. — Powder planted. — Emperor Pow- 
hatan. — Indian Splendor. — Guards. — Their severe Disci- 
pline. — Subordinate King's. — Indian Toilet. — The Emper- 
or's Court. — The Consultation. — Smith's Sentence. — Won- 
derful Deliverance. — Pocahontas. — Executioners disappoint- 
ed. — Smith a Toy Maker "The Chieftain's Daughter." — 

Female Kindness. — A sympathizing Brother. 

After the Indians had returned from their tri- 
umphal display of their captive, they went through 
certain wild and strange ceremonies, of which 
Smith, in his General History of Virginia, has 
given the following interesting description : — 

" Early in the morning, a great fire was made 
in a long house, and a mat spread on the one side 
as on the other. On the one they caused him to 
sit, and all the guard went out of the house, and 
presently came skipping in a great grim fellow, all 
painted over with coal, mingled with oil ; and 
many snakes' and weasels' skins stuffed with moss, 
and all their tails tied together, so as they met on 
the crown of his head in a tassel ; and round about 
the tassel was as a coronet of feathers, the skin 
hanging round about his head, back, and shoulders, 
and in a manner covered his face ; with a hellish 



184 STRANGE CEREMONY. 

voice and rattle in his hand. With most strange 
gestures and passions he began his invocation, and 
environed the fire with a circle of meale; which 
done, three more such hideous beings came rushing 
in with the hke antique tricks, painted half black, 
half red ; but all their eyes were painted white, 
and some red strokes like Mutchato's along their 
cheeks. Round about him those fiends danced a 
pretty while, and then came in three more as ugly 
as the rest, with red eyes and white strokes over 
their black faces ; at last they all sat down right 
against him, three on one side of the chief priest, 
and three on the other. Then all with rattles 
began a song, which ended, the chief priest laid 
down five wheat corns ; then, straining his arms 
and hands with such violence that he sweat, and 
his veins swelled, he began a short oration ; at 
the conclusion, they all gave a short groan, and 
then laid down three grains more. After that be- 
gan their song again, and then another oration, 
ever laying down so many corns as before, till they 
had twice encircled the fire ; that done, they took a 
bunch of little sticks prepared for that purpose, 
continuing still their devotion, and at the end of 
every song and oration, they laid down a stick 
betwixt the divisions of the corn. Till night, 
neither he nor they did either eat or drink; and 
then they feasted merrily with the best provisions 
they could make." 



EXPLANATION OF THE STRANGE CEREMONY. 185 

These singularly wild and mysterious ceremonies 
were repeated three days in succession, and their 
explanation, as given to Smith, was, that the circle 
of meal signified their country ; the circles made 
by the kernels of corn indicated the bounds of 
the sea ; the sticks which were employed repre- 
sented the country of Smith ; and the design of 
the whole operation was to discover whether the 
intentions of Smith were friendly or otherwise. 

The arrangement of the materials was based 
upon their opinion that the earth was flat and 
circular. As they knew that the ocean separated 
them from the country of Smith, they made the 
circle of corn, which represented the sea, to come 
between the meal, which stood for their own land, 
and the sticks, which were the symbol of Smith's 
country. 

The result of these ceremonies seems to have 
been favorable for their captive ; for after this, he 
visited, by invitation, Opitchapam, the king's brother, 
who welcomed him in true Indian style, and set 
before him large quantities of bread, fowl, and 
wild beasts, the inmates of the wigwam looking on 
while he ate, but not taking any with him. The 
fragments they deposited carefully in baskets. 

On his return to Pamunkey, all of Chief Ope- 
chancanough's family gathered around him, beg- 
16* 



186 SEED POWDER. 

ging for various articles, according to their custom 
on such occasions, with which to make merry. 

Smith's condition was far from being pleasant. 
He was a prisoner to savage barbarians, and was 
in suspense as to what would be his ultimate fate. 
Although he carried himself, as wise policy dictated, 
with great courage, yet he was far from being free 
from painful apprehensions. A rude couplet, which 
may have fallen from his pen, expresses his experi- 
ence at night : — 

" But his waking mind, in hideous dreams, did oft see wondrous 
shapes 
Of bodies strange, and huge in growth, and of stupendious 
makes." 

Whilst he was among this people, they brought 
him a bag of gunpowder which had been taken 
from him or from some other Englishman. As the 
grains were nearly of an equal size, and of a uni- 
form color, they very naturally supposed that they 
were the seeds of some kind of plant. As they 
had witnessed and experienced the wonderful ex- 
ecution of which these small black grains were 
capable, they were delighted with their good for- 
tune in getting possession of some. They kept it 
very carefully till the spring, and then planted it 
the same as corn, with the expectation of gathering 
a crop. When, in the summer, they found them- 



BARBARIC SPLENDOR AND STATE. 187 

selves disappointed, whether they attributed their 
failure to the machinations of Smith, or to their 
want of experience in cultivating this supposed new 
seed, we are not informed. 

After leaving this place. Smith was next carried 
to Werowocomoco, the residence of their famous 
King Powhatan, who was a very powerful chief. 
As different tribes were subject to him, embracing 
many hundreds of warriors, he is sometimes called 
and described as an Indian emperor. 

He lived in as much barbaric state and splendor 
as his circumstances would allow. He was usually 
surrounded by forty or fifty of the tallest and most 
noble-looking warriors which the country afforded. 
They constituted a body guard, which, after his 
acquaintance with the English, he increased to two 
hundred. Every night, he stationed a sentinel at 
each corner of his house, and every half hour 
during the night, one of the main guard gave, as a 
signal, a sound produced by his lips and fingers, to 
which each of the others was obliged to reply, as 
evidence of wakefulness. If any of them failed to 
give the expected response, an officer was immedi- 
ately sent to the delinquent, and inflicted upon him 
severe chastisement. 

At the different places where he was accustomed 
to spend portions of the year, he had houses for 
his reception, some of which were from a hundred 



188 TOILET ATTENTIONS. 

to a hundred and twenty feet long, and were well 
stored with provision. He had many females in 
his family, and when he slept, one sat at his head, 
and another at his feet. But when he was up, he 
usually had one sitting on each side of him. 

He had thirty inferior kings subject to him, each 
of whom had the power of life and death over 
his subjects ; yet to all these subordinates the 
will of Powhatan was supreme law, which they 
were bound to obey. He was reverenced by his 
subjects as though he were divine, and at his feet 
they cast whatever he demanded. He was ex- 
tremely severe in punishing those who offended him, 
for he inflicted upon them the most exquisite torture 
that his cruel ingenuity could invent. A frown 
from his brow would fill the bravest hearts with 
fear. 

When Smith arrived at the residence of this 
noted monarch, Powhatan and his train of confi- 
dential officers and advisers retired to array them- 
selves in their showy robes of state, that they might 
be appropriately attired for so important an occa- 
sion. During the time that they were employed 
in arranging their toilet. Smith was surrounded by 
more than two hundred others, who " stood won- 
dering at him as he had been a monster." 

After the Indians had arrayed themselves in 
their gala robes, with skins, feathers, and orna- 



THE COURT. 189 

mented belts, they came forth to attend to the 
important duty before them, which was to give 
their distinguished prisoner an appropriate recep- 
tion, and to decide upon his fate. The etiquette 
which was observed on that solemn occasion was 
as follows : — 

On one side of his wigwam, upon a raised plat- 
form, sat the renowned Powhatan, wearing a large 
robe of raccoon skins, ornamented with the tails 
of the same animals, and a coronet of feathers 
upon his head. On either side of him sat a young 
squaw, sixteen or eighteen years of age — perhaps 
his daughters. On both sides of the house were 
arranged, in a sitting posture, two rows of men, 
and behind them as many more women, whose 
faces and shoulders were painted red, on whose 
heads was a head-dress of feathers, or some other 
material, and around whose necks was suspended a 
great chain of white beads. In the middle of the 
house a fire was burning. 

When all were in readiness. Captain Smith was 
led in and introduced to this imposing circle. As 
he entered, the whole company greeted him with a 
loud shout, which might have been heard at a great 
distance. The females were now ordered to wait 
upon him. The queen of Appamatuck was com- 
manded to bring him water to wash his hands ; 
another furnished him a bunch of feathers, instead 



190 SMITH DOOMED TO DIE. 

of a towel, with which to dry them. This cer- 
emony being through, they then suppUed him with 
food, and feasted him according to their custom on 
such occasions ; after which, they held a long con- 
sultation, to decide what disposition they should 
make of him. Instead of releasing him, and using 
him as a medium through whom to negotiate a 
treaty of peace and friendship with the whites at 
Jamestown, on terms mutually beneficial, which the 
English would gladly have entered into, their decis- 
ion was of a different character. Their protracted 
deliberation concluded in dooming him to instant 
death. Accordingly, two large stones were brought 
in and laid before Powhatan, as it was his design 
to see the execution. Then began a commotion 
among the inmates of the cabin. The men rushed 
towards Smith, and as many as could get near 
enough to lay hold of him, seized him and dragged 
him towards the fatal stones. In the mean time, an 
interesting and favorite daughter of Powhatan, 
about thirteen years of age, whose name was Poc- 
ahontas, seeing the murderous design of the execu- 
tioners, and knowing that her father had full power 
to prevent further proceedings, began to intercede 
with him in an earnest manner to spare the life of 
his prisoner. It was a most touching scene. Smith, 
bound, helpless, and in the power of his enemies, 
lay with his head upon the stone. The executioners, 



SMITH SAVED BY POCAHONTAS. 191 

thirsting for his blood, with club in hand, were only 
waiting for the signal of the king to give the fatal 
blow ; but at the feet of that king is a beloved 
daughter pleading with affectionate earnestness for 
him to spare the white man. The life of the 
prisoner is suspended upon the intercessions of that 
child. Is she successful ? Does the heart of her 
father relent 1 Does he look down upon her and 
smile 1 Does he yield to the affectionate pleading of 
his favorite daughter, and command the prisoner's 
release 1 Alas ! no. Her haughty father refuses 
her request, and orders the execution to proceed. 
The prisoner's position is adjusted to receive the 
murderous blow ; the club is raised ; in a moment 
more, the fatal deed will be over. And now that 
child, failing in her prayers, leaves her father's 
feet, rushes through the executioners, seizes the 
head of the captive in her arms, and lays her own 
upon it, so that he cannot be smitten, without she 
is first slain. The youthful intercessor becomes the 
protector, and interposes her own person between 
the captive and death. This exhibition of interest, 
so unlooked for and so unusual, awakened great 
surprise amongst the tawny sons of the forest. 
The eyes of the executioners gleamed with anger 
at this untimely interruption. The spectators would 
gladly have torn her away, for they delighted in 
scenes of blood, and were unwilling to be disap- 



192 THE chieftain's daughter. 

pointed on this occasion. But they must wait the 
orders of their chief, who, by this fresh exhibition 
of compassion on the part of his daughter, was 
overcome ; his heart was softened, and he con- 
cluded to spare the prisoner, and keep hun to make 
hatchets for himself, and bells, beads, and copper 
ornaments for his daughter. 

This deeply-interesting incident has been honored 
by the muse in the following spirited and graphic 
lines of General George P. Morris, which, in addi- 
tion to their other commendable qualities, contain a 
beautiful tribute to the disinterested kindness of 
woman. 

THE CHIEFTAIN'S DAUGHTER. 

Upon the barren sand 

A single captive stood ; 
Around him came, with bow and brand, 

The red men of the wood. 
Like him of old, his doom he hears, 

Rockbound on ocean's rim ; 
The chieftain's daughter knelt in tears, 

And breathed a prayer for him. 

Above his head In air 

The savage war club swung ; 
The frantic girl, in wild despair, 

Her arms about him flung. 
Then shook the warriors of the shade, 

Like leaves on aspen limb. 
Subdued by that heroic maid 

Who breathed a prayer for him. 



KINDNESS OF WOMAN. 193 

" Unbind him ! " gasped the chief; 

« Obey your king's decree ! " 
He kissed away her tears of grief, 

And set the captive free. 
'Tis ever thus, when, in life's storm, 

Hope's star to man grows dim. 
An angel kneels in woman's form, 

And breathes a prayer for him. 

The last sentiment in these lines, expressive of 
woman's kindness in man's extremity, had received 
frequent illustrations in the eventful history of 
Smith, of which he makes honorable mention in 
the dedication of his " Generall Historic of Vir* 
ginia " to Lady Frances, Duchess of Richmond. 
After apologizing for the want of literary excel- 
lence in the composition of his book, he adds, 
"Yet my comfort is, that heretofore honorable and 
vertuous ladies, and comparable but amongst them- 
selves, have offered me rescue and protection in 
my greatest dangers ; even in foreign parts, I have 
felt relief from that sex. The beauteous lady 
Tragabigzanda, when I was a slave . to the Turks, 
did all she could to secure me. When I overcame 
the Bashaw of Nalbrits, in Tartaria, the charitable 
lady Callamata supplied my necessities. In the 
utmost of many extremities, that blessed Pocahon- 
tas, the great king's daughter of Virginia, oft saved 
my life. When I escaped the cruelty of pirates 
and most furious storms, a long time alone in a 
17 



194 HUMANE CHILDREN. 

small boat at sea, and driven ashore in France, 
the good lady Madame Chanoyes bountifully as- 
sisted me." He then appeals to the duchess for a 
continuance of the same pleasant experience, by 
saying to her, with reference to his faults of style, 
" My imperfections have no help but the shrine of 
your glorious name to be sheltered from censorious 
condemnation. Vouchsafe some glimpse of your 
honorable aspect, to accept these my labors, to 
protect them under the shadow of your excellent 
name." 

Pocahontas was not the only one of the high- 
minded family of Powhatan who manifested an 
interest in the welfare of Smith. A son of the 
king, named Nantaquaus, brother to Pocahontas, 
sympathized with her, and espoused the cause of 
the prisoner with much warmth. He was a youth 
of commanding personal appearance, and of great 
courage. It was a most favorable providence for 
Smith that these two children of the renowned 
chief became so deeply interested in his fortunes. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Smith released. — His Suspicions. — The Cannon and the Grind- 
stone. — Powder frightens. — Plot arrested. — The President 
imprisoned. — Pocahontas again. — Her timely Supplies. — 
Smith regarded with Reverence. — His Prediction fulfilled. — 
Ceremonial Visit. — Newport frightened. — Powhatan's State. — 
Smith visits him fearlessly. — His Reception. — Newport gathers 
Courage. — Royal Shrewdness. — Newport cheated. — Smith's 
Indignation. — His successful Cunning. — The Biter bitten. 

Two days after Smith's remarkable deliverance, 
through the courageous interference of young Poca- 
hontas, he was removed by the order of Powhatan 
to a large house that was situated some distance in 
the woods. A fire was kindled, a mat spread for 
him, and he was there left alone. 

Whilst Smith was there reflecting upon his con- 
dition, and contriving by what means he might get 
back to Jamestown, there fell upon his ear " the 
most dolefuUest noise he ever heard." It appeared 
to proceed from behind a mat which divided the 
house. But by whom it was made, or what it por- 
tended, he knew not. Presently Powhatan entered, 
arrayed and painted in such hideous fashion as more 
nearly to resemble some evil spirit than a human 
being. He was accompanied by two hundred others 
equally repulsive in appearance. Smith's anxiety 
at this unexpected visit, if he had any, was soon 



196 Powhatan's offer. 

relieved by Powhatan drawing up to him and kindly 
saying, " We are now friends, and you must go to 
Jamestown and send me two great guns and a grind- 
stone, for which I will give you the country of Capa- 
howsick, and ever hereafter will esteem you as my son 
Nantaquaus." This communication would have been 
very agreeable to Smith if he had placed confidence 
in it. But as it was, he listened to it with great 
doubt. It seemed too good to be true. On the 
next day, however, evidence was furnished of Pow- 
hatan's good intentions, by his deputing twelve men 
to guide Captain Smith to Jamestown. Smith, how- 
ever, was still doubtful. Whilst on the journey, he 
expected every hour to be put to death one way or 

* 

the other. That night they encamped in the woods, 
and the next morning they arrived at Jamestown. 

In compliance with the wishes of Powhatan, 
Smith showed the savages two demi-culverins, (can- 
non which would throw a nine-pound ball,) and a 
millstone, and told them those were the articles 
which they were to carry to their chief. They made 
an effort to lift them ; but finding it impossible, they 
were obliged to abandon the intention of taking 
them home. To make a salutary impression upon 
their fears, arising from the power of these weapons. 
Smith had them loaded with powder and stones. 
He then pointed them at a great tree, which was 
covered with icicles, and fired them. When the 



INDIANS FRIGHTENED. 197 

Indians heard their loud report, and saw the boughs 
of the tree and the icicles falling abundantly to the 
ground, they ran off at their swiftest speed, half dead 
with fright. After considerable effort, Smith suc- 
ceeded in allaying the fears of his guides ; and as 
they could not carry the things Powhatan had speci- 
fied, he gave them a quantity of other articles to 
take as presents to him, and also a variety of toys 
for themselves, with which they were well satisfied. 
They then returned home. 

Smith had been absent from Jamestown seven 
weeks. When he returned, he found every thing in 
confusion. No one amongst the colonists possessed 
sufficient influence to maintain order. Dissensions 
and quarrels were rife. To such a degree had the 
malcontents proceeded, that a plot had been ar- 
ranged for an escape from Jamestown in the pin- 
nace. When information of this was communicated 
to Smith, he immediately determined to prevent it. 
Accordingly he brought the guns to bear upon the 
vessel, and then with great firmness warned them 
that if they attempted to sail he would sink them. 
Although this decision and courage on the part of 
Smith defeated the project, yet so indignant were 
the rebels, that, in revenge, they accused him of the 
murder of the two men who were slain by the In- 
dians whilst they were watching the canoe, and re- 
solved to seize him and put him to death, according 
17* 



198 A WELCOME VISITOR. 

to the Levitical law. But Smith was not a man to 
be taken in such a net. Instead of allowing him- 
self to be seized, he at once seized his accusers, one 
of whom was President RatclifFe, and confined them 
till an opportunity was furnished for sending some 
of them to England. 

One day a young Indian girl came into the set- 
tlement, who seemed to be a person of considerable 
distinction, as she was accompanied by a train of 
attendants, who obsequiously obeyed her commands, 
and had in their hands various articles of food, which 
they disposed of according to her directions. None 
of the colonists knew her ; no one could speak with 
her until she was brought to Smith. So soon as he 
saw her, he extended to her his hand, received her 
with great cordiality, and appeared as delighted as 
if she had been his only daughter. It was his young 
deliverer, Pocahontas. She had come with a reti- 
nue, bringing provisions to supply the wants of the 
colonists. Nothing could have been more accepta- 
ble, for they were reduced to great straits. Every 
four or five days this youthful princess encountered 
the severity of the cold, and the disagreeableness of 
a winter's journey through the forests, and over hill 
and river, with her retinue, to furnish the colony 
with supplies, by which means " she saved many of 
their lives, that else for all this would have starved 
with hunger." 



PREDICTION FULFILLED. 199 

Several of the other natives were also in the habit 
of visiting the colony and bringing food ; some, they 
said, were presents for Captain Smith from Pow- 
hatan and Pocahontas. These were always received 
as donations. But on the rest the English fixed a 
price, and paid for them. 

It seems that Smith's deportment during his cap- 
tivity had made such an impression upon the savages, 
that they now regarded him as some very exalted 
and powerful personage, — a kind of demigod, — and 
were ready to obey his slightest wish. They knew 
that he was the worshipper of the God who created 
all things, and in speaking of the divine Being they 
called him the " God of Captain Smith." 

A circumstance which greatlv increased their rev- 
erence for Smith was the fulfilment of one of his 
predictions. He had told the Indians that before 
long a great vessel would be seen, with large white 
sails, bringing his father to him. And as, about the 
time he specified, a vessel did arrive from England 
under the command of Captain Newport, whom 
Smith styled his father, the Indians believed he pos- 
sessed the power of foretelling future events, and 
reverenced him accordingly. 

This arrival produced an unfavorable effect upon 
the traffic between the English and the Indians. It 
had been Smith's policy to hold his articles at a high 
price, so that the natives might not purchase them 



200 Newport's bad policy. 

too easily, nor obtain too many of them. He knew 
that if they began to undervalue them, or if the 
demand for them was destroyed, it would be diffi- 
cult for him to purchase food with them. He there- 
fore }3arted with them at a high rate. But after 
Newport's arrival, another policy prevailed. As the 
president and council were jealous of the influence 
of Smith among the natives, to lessen it they gave 
them four times as much for their commodities as 
Smith had appointed. Besides this, they allowed the 
sailors, who had come over in the ship, to trade with 
the Indians on their own account, and to make such 
bargains as they pleased. The consequence was, the 
market was soon glutted with English trinkets ; and 
a pound of copper, or of glass beads, would not pro- 
cure as much as an ounce had previously. The 
finishing blow was given to the trade by Captain 
Newport's profuse presents to King Powhatan. 
These donations gave Powhatan exalted ideas of 
Newport, and made him very anxious to have an 
interview with him. 

In a few days arrangements were made for New- 
port to visit him. It was a great occasion, both at 
Jamestown and in the village of Werowocomoco. 

It was understood, both among the English and 
the Indians, that this was to be an important cere- 
monial visit of the most distinguished white man 
in America to the most powerful native king, and 



THE CAPTAIN AND THE KING. 201 

therefore both people entered into it with becoming 
enthusiasm. To make a suitable impression upon 
the savage monarch of the forest, as well as to in- 
sure his own safety, Newport was accompanied with 
a body guard of thirty or forty picked men. He 
was also attended by Captain Smith and Mr. Matthew 
Scrivener, a gentleman of intelligence and discretion, 
who had recently arrived in the settlement. There 
was great excitement at Jamestown as the little bark 
pushed off on her voyage to the Indian king. There 
was as much at Powhatan's village upon her arrival 
there. When Captain Newport saw the great num- 
ber of Indians, with their grim visages, their painted 
bodies, and their bows and arrows, who had assem- 
bled to welcome them, not being accustomed to such 
scenes, he became alarmed, and hesitated to go 
ashore for fear of treachery, imprisonment, and 
death. Smith, therefore, to whose breast fear was 
a stranger, volunteered to land himself, and, with a 
company of twenty men, to brave all dangers, and 
call on Powhatan. Leaving the vessel, he was es- 
corted to the village by two or three hundreds of 
savages. " Powhatan strained himself upon this 
occasion to the utmost of his greatness to entertain 
them, with great shouts of joy, orations, and protes- 
tations, and with the most sumptuous and plentiful 
banquet he could provide. He sat on a bed of mats, 
with a pillow of leather, embroidered with pearl and 



202 Powhatan's state. 

white beads, and was clothed in a robe of skins as 
large as an Irish mantle. At his head and feet sat 
a handsome young woman, and on each side the 
house twenty of his concubines, with their heads 
and shoulders painted red, and a great chain of 
white beads about each of their necks. Before them 
sat his chief men, in the like order ; and above forty 
platters of fine bread stood in two files on each side 
of the door ; four or five hundred people attended 
as a guard ; and proclamation was made that none, 
upon pain of death, should presume to do the Eng- 
lish any wrong or discourtesy." 

The day was spent by Smith in renewing his ac- 
quaintance with those whom he had seen before, in 
feasting, and in witnessing a variety of Indian sports, 
which were performed for his amusement. He and 
his guard spent the night among the natives. 

By the next day, Newport had gathered sufficient 
courage to venture on shore. He was received in 
great state by Powhatan, who extended to him all 
the courtesies belonging to Indian etiquette. Sev- 
eral days were spent in feasting and amusements ; 
these latter consisting of feats of strength and agil- 
ity, and especially of various dances, in which there 
was an abundance of strange antics and uncouth 
gesticulations with heads, hands, and feet. After 
this they entered upon the sober business of trade. 

Although in civilization Powhatan was far behind 



Powhatan's cunning. 203 

Captain Newport, yet for cunning shrewdness in 
driving a bargain he proved himself his superior. 
He pretended to scorn the Uttle retail trade which 
was being carried on between the English and his 
own followers. He therefore told Newport, through 
Captain Smith as interpreter, that as Newport was 
a great chief as well as himself, it was undignified 
for such distinguished persons as thej two were to be 
engaged in petty peddling for mere trifles, and there- 
fore, if Newport would bring out and lay down in a 
pile together all the commodities which he had 
brought, he would select from them what he liked, 
and then pay him what he believed they were worth. 
Thus the wily chief wanted to buy, at his oion price., 
any of the articles which the English had. Smith, 
who knew Powhatan's character better than any 
other Englishman, told Newport that the only object 
of the chief was to cheat him. But Newport paid 
no heed to this remark, and thinking that, by a dis- 
play of unusual liberality on his part, he could prob- 
ably obtain from Powhatan any thing that he wished, 
he consented to accept of the chief's proposal. 
Accordingly a large quantity of all kinds of English 
goods was displayed before the rejoicing eyes of 
Powhatan, who selected from them every thing that 
he wanted. But when he came to pay for them, 
he valued his corn at such high prices that he did 
not give four bushels for the articles which he had 



204 THE TABLES TURNED. 

chosen, when he ought to have paid twenty hogs- 
heads ! Captain Smith was indignant. And as his 
caution to Newport had been unheeded, and the 
matter had turned out as he had predicted, an aUen- 
ation of feeling grew up between these two Enghsh 
officers. 

PoHcy, however, prompted both of them to con- 
ceal their anger. 

Smith was extremely reluctant to have the trade 
close so unfavorably for the English, and was deter- 
mined to make another exchange, if possible, where 
the advantage on his side should be as great as that 
which the shrewd Indian had just gained. He there- 
fore carelessly exposed to the chief several trifles to 
excite his cupidity. The quick eyes of Powhatan 
were fastened upon some blue beads ; but when he 
expressed a wish for them. Smith pretended that they 
were so very rare and costly that he could not part 
with them, except at a great price. This increased 
Powhatan's desire to obtain them. He importuned 
a long time for them without success. The more 
anxious he was to obtain them, the more unwilling 
Smith pretended to be to part with them, telling him 
that they were composed of a very rare and costly 
substance, of the color of the skies, and not to be 
worn except by the greatest kings upon earth. Pow- 
hatan now became half crazy to possess these strange 
aristocratic jewels. After tantalizing him for a long 



THE BITER BITTEN. 205 

time, and exciting his covetousness to the highest 
degree, Smith finally consented to let him have a 
few, but only at an exorbitant price. So adroitly 
did he manage the whole matter, that for one or two 
pounds of these worthless beads, he obtained two or 
three hundred bushels of corn. The biter got bit. 
This was an equivalent for Powhatan's roguery. 
Yet they parted as friends, each probably feeling 
that he had the advantage of the other. How much 
better open frankness and perfect honesty on both 
sides would have been, instead of all this duplicity ! 
18 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Value of blue Beads. — A Conflagration. — Mr. Hunt's Trials 
and Patience. — Gold Fever. — The Phcenix. — Turkeys and 
Swords. — Weapons stolen. — Smith's Decision. — Powhatan 
negotiates through Pocahontas. — She is successful. — Unrea- 
sonable Complaints. — Cedar against Gold. — Chesapeake Bay 
explored. — A noble Chief. — Places named. — Suffer for Wa- 
ter. — A Storm. — Limbo. — Shirt Sails. — Wild Men. — Strat- 
agem defeated. — Effects of Kindness. — Indian Merchants. — 
The Party discouraged. — Smith's Perseverance. — Treachery 
discovered. — Timely Supplies. 

After Newport and Smith had finished their 
ceremonial visit and trading at Werowocomoco, 
they went to Pamunkey, where they were received 
in the same manner, with feastings, dancing, and 
other sports. When the trading began, the bhie 
beads were brought forward, and were sold at the 
same extravagant rates as to Powhatan. The result 
was, that they rose so high in the estimation of the 
Indians, that no one dared to wear them but the 
highest chiefs, or their wives and children. 

After finishing their visits, the party returned 
again to Jamestown. Immediately after their ar- 
rival, the corn which they had obtained was care- 
fully stowed in the storehouse. But by some acci- 
dent, a conflagration broke out. The storehouse 
was burned. Several other houses, being covered 



A GOLD MANIA. 207 

only with thatch, caught fire, and were also con- 
sumed. Eight or ten yards of their palisades 
were destroyed, with a considerable amount of 
arms, bedding, clothing, and private provision. 
Among the greatest sufferers* was their good pastor, 
Rev. Mr. Hunt, who lost all his library and all his 
wardrobe, except the clothes he happened to have 
on. Yet was he never heard to murmur at his loss. 
As this happened in the winter of 1607, which was 
one of unusual severity, it must have subjected 
those who were burned out to great hardships. 

After this, there was much suffering among the 
colonists, both from the scarcity of food, and the 
severity of the cold ; so that more than half of 
their number died. 

Notwithstanding this, a gold mania broke out. 
The " refiners, with their golden promises, made all 
men their slaves, in hope of recompenses. There 
was no talk, no hope, no work, but dig gold, wash 
gold, refine gold, load gold ; such a bruit of gold, 
that one mad fellow desired to be buried in the 
sands, lest they should, by their art, make gold of 
his bones." Smith did not believe that the yellow 
shining dust, which had set the whole colony crazy, 
was gold ; and nothing troubled him more than to 
see so much time and strength spent in loading 
such a "drunken ship with so much gilded dirt." 

After quantities of this worthless sand had been 



208 THE PHCENIX. 

Stored in the vessel, Newport returned home, taking 
with him Wingfield and Archer, that they might 
obtain some other employment in England. 

After Newport had left, the Phoenix, Captain 
Nelson, arrived. Though Nelson departed from 
England in company with Newport, he had been 
driven by stress of weather into the West Indies, 
where he had passed the winter. He staid so long 
that he was given up for lost. His arrival, there- 
fore, was a great relief to the colony, and the more 
so as he was able to supply them with provisions, 
which, added to what they had, were sufficient to 
last them six months. 

Up to this time, it had been the policy of the 
English to withhold from the natives all Enghsh 
weapons. They had steadily refused to barter 
swords, guns, and powder for any thing which the 
Indians could bring. This was wise ; and if the 
policy had been persevered in as a constant, settled 
practice, it would have been far better for the col- 
onists ; for in that case, they would always have 
maintained their superiority over the natives. Bows, 
arrows, and clubs could never have contended suc- 
cessfully with swords, guns, and powder. 

Powhatan was extremely anxious to obtain some 
swords. To accomplish this object, he sent to 
Captain Newport, just before he left, twenty tur- 
keys, with the request that he would send in return 



TURKEYS FOR SWORDS. 209 

twenty swords. Newport, in compliance with his 
vvislies, unwisely sent the weapons. After New- 
port's departure, the cunning chief sent Captain 
Smith a quantity of the same fowls ; but Smith 
was too shrewd to furnish, as he desired, more 
swords. This gave Powhatan offence, and he 
ordered his men to obtain weapons from the Eng- 
lish by stratagem, force, or any other means. In 
obedience to this command, which was equivalent 
to a declaration of war, the Indians formed am- 
buscades around Jamestown, and whenever any of 
the colonists made their appearance, they would 
seize them, and take from them their weapons. 
They became insufferably troublesome, prowling 
around the town, seizing all who went abroad, and 
even attacking the men at their work, and stealing 
from them their guns. As the council in England 
had given strict orders to keep on good terms with 
the natives. President Ratcliffe was unwilling to 
adopt any retaliatory measures. Being probably 
emboldened by what appeared to be a want of 
courage on the part of the Enghsh, they had the 
insolence to come upon Captain Smith. He was 
not a man to receive an insult patiently, and there- 
fore turned upon them with great show of severity. 
He chased them in various directions, and seized 
seven of them, whom he whipped and then impris- 
oned. In revenge they seized two Englishmen, 
18* 



210 smith's insult and retaliation. 

and then came in large numbers, and threatened to 
force Smith to dehver up his prisoners, or else they 
would put the whole colony to death. Nothing 
daunted by their murderous threat, Smith boldly 
sallied out against them, and in less than an hour, 
he brought them to such terms that they were glad 
to deliver up the two men whom they had taken, 
and make peace without saying any thing more 
about those whom Smith held captive. 

Smith was determined to ascertain what he did 
not then know, and that was, under whose orders 
these fellows were acting. For this purpose, he 
closely examined his prisoners ; and to inspire them 
with suitable terror, he ordered several volleys of 
musketry to be fired, and then told them that an 
Indian had been shot and killed because he would 
not confess under whose directions he acted, and 
what was the object aimed at. This produced the 
desired effect, and brought a confession from them 
all. In two things there was an agreement between 
all their statements : first, that Powhatan was the 
instigator, and secondly, that his object was to 
murder them with their own weapons. 

Yet Powhatan, with the duplicity of a cunning 
hypocrite, sent apologies and presents to James- 
town, begging that they would excuse the unauthor- 
ized injuries which some of his hot-headed followers 
had inflicted upon the colony, and asking for the 



POCAHONTAS AN AMBASSADRESS. 211 

deliverance of the prisoners, with professions of his 
love forever. To render the negotiation more suc- 
cessful, he sent his favorite daughter, Pocahontas, 
as the ambassadress to convey his message. 

Smith was disposed neither to be in a hurry to 
comply with the deceitful Indian's request, nor to 
free the prisoners without some salutary punishment. 
He therefore gave them such correction as he 
deemed proper, and then detained them two days; 
after which he delivered them to Pocahontas, as- 
suring them that it was only on her account that he 
released them at all. 

The spirit and firmness with which Smith met 
the encroachments of the Indians did not meet the 
approval of his colleagues. They accused him of 
cruelty, although he had studiously avoided putting 
any to death. The ingratitude of these complaints 
was evinced by the fact, that, prior to this, they 
sometimes had " peace and war twice in a day," 
and scarcely a week passed by without some treach- 
erous villany on the part of the natives ; whereas, 
now, the mere name of Smith was a sufficient terror 
to awe them into good behavior. 

As the time had now arrived for the Phoenix to 
return, it was a question which elicited considerable 
discussion. With what shall she be loaded 1 Martin, 
whose imagination was so fired with his fanciful 
discovery of a gold mine, was anxious that she 



213 CHESAPEAKE BAY EXPLORED. 

should be iaden with his shining dirt ; but Smith, 
who had no confidence in its value, objected. He 
thought a cargo of cedar would be more profitable. 
His counsels prevailed. The vessel was laden 
with cedar, and departed. Martin, being so thor- 
oughly inoculated with the gold mania as to be 
unserviceable to the colony, and desirous of enjoy- 
ing the honor of discovering the gold mine, was 
willingly allowed to return in her to England. 

At the time of the departure of the Phoenix, 
Captain Smith, in company with Dr. Russell and 
thirteen others, undertook to explore Chesapeake 
Bay in an open boat of between two and three tons' 
burden. They left Jamestown June 2, 1608, and 
kept in company with the Phoenix until they reached 
Cape Henry, when they parted with her. 

Crossing the bay to the eastern shore, they fell 
in with some islands, called, after the captain, 
Smith's Isles. As they approached Cape Charles, 
they saw two stout, savage-looking Indians, armed 
with long poles like javelins, headed with bone — 
perhaps spears with which to take fish. They 
demanded of the English who they were, and what 
they wanted. After a little intercourse, they ap- 
peared friendly, and directed the explorers to Ac- 
comack, the residence, of their chief, by whom 
they were kindly received. This werowance., as 
the chiefs were called, was the most noble-looking 



DISCOVERIES. 213 

Indian, and the most courteous in his manners, of 
any they had seen in the country. As he spoke the 
same language that Powhatan used, it was not 
difficult for Smith to hold conversation with him. 
" He told us," says the original narrative, " of a 
strange accident lately happened him, and it was 
two children being dead. Some extreme passions 
or dreaming visions, phantasies, or affection moved 
their parents again to revisit their dead carcases, 
whose benummed bodies reflected to the eyes of the 
beholders such delightful countenances, as though 
they had regained their vital spirits. This, as a 
miracle, drew many to behold them, all which, 
being a great part of his people, not long after died, 
and but few escaped." Leaving this courteous yet 
afflicted chief, they continued their excursion, nam- 
ing the highest land they saw on the main Keale's 
Hill, after one of the company ; and certain unin 
habited islands in the bay, Russell's Isles, after the 
doctor who was with them. These have since been 
called Tangier Islands. They now began to suffer 
for water, and went ashore to find some, but were 
unsuccessful. They soon entered the River Wigh- 
cocomoco, afterwards called Pokomoke. The 
northern point, at the mouth of this river, they 
named Watkins Point, after James Watkins, one 
of the soldiers who accompanied them. The natives 
on this river at first made some warlike demon- 



214 SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST. 

stralions ; but ere long, they changed their policy, 
and with songs, dances, and much mirth, became 
very tractable. 

The men went ashore and searched the cabins of 
the Indians for water. They found only a small 
quantity, that was extremely dirty ; and before two 
days more had expired, so great were their suffer- 
ings from thirst, that they would have refused an 
equal quantity of gold for some of that puddle 
water. Seeing another high point of land, they 
went ashore, and saw, to their great joy, a pond of 
fresh water. No sight could have been more 
acceptable. But, alas ! when they attempted to slake , 
their thirst with it, they found it so exceedingly hot 
that they could scarcely drink it. The place they 
named Point Ployer, in honor of a house in Britain 
which on some former occasion had relieved their 
captain from certain troubles. In prosecuting their 
excursion, they were overtaken by a violent tem- 
pest. The wind blew like a hurricane ; the light- 
ning flashed ; the thunder roared ; the waves rolled 
violently, throwing their white caps high in the 
air, and frequently leaping into the boat, filling it 
with water, so that, with the most laborious bailing, 
they could scarcely keep from sinking. To in- 
crease their consternation and peril, their mast and 
sail were carried away, and they were compelled to 
manage the vessel as best they could, with their 



THE PARTY IN LIMBO. 215 

oars only. They pulled for certain islands that 
were near, which they fortunately reached without 
any additional mishap, yet in a very wretched 
plight. As the weather continued stormy and 
boisterous, they were here kept in limbo for two 
days, from which circumstance they gave the place 
the name of Limbo. These are now called Wats's 
Islands. 

When the weather held up, they repaired their 
vessel as well as circumstances would allow. They 
experienced the greatest difficulty in providing her 
with a sail ; but, as necessity is the mother of 
invention, this difficulty was soon removed by the 
party taking their shirts and sowing them together 
for that purpose. 

Leaving Limbo, they crossed over again to a 
river called Cuscarawock. When the Indians saw 
them approaching, they appeared to be in great 
consternation. Some ran in troops from place to 
place, hallooing and yelling like so many demons. 
Some ascended to the tops of the trees, looking, as 
they were perched among the branches, like so 
many wild baboons ; and all of them, by gestures 
and the use of their weapons, expressed the most 
violent passion. 

Smith wisely anchored at a considerable distance 
from the shore, so that the showers of arrows 
which the natives sent towards him failed of reach- 



216 VILLANY FRIGHTENED. 

ing him. These useless warlike movements they 
kept up a considerable length of time, the English, 
in the mean while, making every sign of friendship 
in their power. 

The next day, the Indians adopted a different 
policy. They resorted to stratagem. They came 
down to the shore unarmed, every one bringing a 
basket, as if for purposes of trade. They engaged 
in a dance, as though they desired to amuse their 
visitors. All their movements were apparently 
friendly ; but believing them to intend nothing but 
villany, the English discharged at them a volley 
of musketry loaded with small shot, which operated 
like magic ; for in an instant the whole army of 
Indians fell prostrate to the ground. Soon they 
commenced their escape, some creeping on all 
fours, and others drawing themselves along on their 
faces, in a manner which has significantly been 
termed " snaking it," until they reached a great 
cluster of reeds, in which they disappeared and lay 
in ambush. In the evening, Smith fired several 
shot into the reeds, and then landed. He saw 
many baskets, much blood, but no natives. Dis- 
covering some smoke on the opposite side of the 
river, he crossed over there, and found several 
cabins, in each of which was a fire, but no natives. 
They had fled. Smith left in these wigwams some 
copper, beads, bells, and looking glasses, and then, 



FRIENDSHIP AND TRADE. 217 

rowing out into the bay, waited until night, when 
he returned. These Httle gifts of friendship pro- 
duced a decidedly favorable effect ; for the next 
morning, four Indians came to them in a canoe, 
who were treated with such courtesy, that after 
they left, they soon returned, bringing twenty more 
with them. As intercourse with these white stran- 
gers was found to result in no injury, they w^re in 
a little while surrounded with some two or three 
thousand men, women, and children, every one of 
whom presented them with something, for which a 
bead or toy was regarded as ample compensation. 

So friendly were these Indians, that they con- 
tended among themselves for the privilege of bring- 
ing water to the English, staying with them as 
hostages, or being their guides. 

On this river resided several distinct Indian tribes, 
amongst whom were the Nantaquacks, who devoted 
more attention to trade than the others. They 
were a tribe of Indian merchants. They made the 
finest robes, and large quantities of the best roanoke, 
or wampum, which passed amongst the Indians as 
money, and created as much contention and covet- 
ousness amongst them as gold and silver amongst 
more civilized nations. 

Smith continued his explorations until his men, 
who at first were fearful that he would be in too 
much haste to return, were heartily tired of the 
19 



218 THE POTOMAC. 

business. Their bread was wet and mouldy, and 
their arms so tired with pulUng at the oars, that 
they made bitter complaints, and urged him to 
return. But he reminded them of the fortitude of 
Mr. Ralph Lane's company ; how they determined 
not to return from their explorations, being willing 
to live upon broth made of dog's flesh and sassafras 
leaves. He further informed them that they had 
not accomplished the objects of the expedition ; 
that he had shared with them all their inconven- 
ience, and was willing to endure the worst part 
of what was to come ; that it was not likely that 
any storms more severe than those which they had 
already experienced would occur, and that it would 
be full as dangerous to return as it would be to 
proceed upon their discoveries. Therefore said he 
with great firmness, " Regain your old spirits, for 
return I will not (if God please) till I have seen the 
Massawomeks, found Patowmak, or the head of 
this water you conceit to be endless." 

A few days after this, three or four of the boat's 
crew became sick, who made such pitiful and earnest 
complaints to the captain, that he reluctantly con- 
sented to return. On the 16th of June, they 
reached the River Patowmak, (Potomac.) As by 
this time the invalids had recovered, and the whole 
party were revived in spirits, they consented to 
sail up this noble stream. For thirty miles, they 



Powhatan's treachery. 219 

saw not a single native, though in all probability 
they were observed by the Indians, who concealed 
themselves to draw them into an ambuscade. At 
the end of this distance, they fell in with two 
natives, who conducted them up a little creek 
towards Onawmanient, where they found *' the 
woods were laid with ambuscadoes to the number 
of three or four thousand savages, so strangely 
painted, grimed, and disguised, shouting, yelling, 
and crying as so many spirits from hell could not 
have showed more terrible." They made ijaany 
threatening bravadoes, but without in the least 
degree alarming Smith, who ordered some guns to 
be fired in such a manner that the Indians might 
see the balls skipping along upon the top of the 
water. This produced an immediate and most 
favorable change ; for no sooner did the report of 
the guns reach the woods, than the Indians threw 
their bows and arrows to the ground, and proposed 
to the English that they should exchange hostages 
as guarantees for mutual good treatment during 
their negotiations. This was done, and one of the 
company, named James Watkins, went six miles 
through the woods to their chief. Smith learned 
that these Indians had been ordered by Powhatan to 
betray the English, and that Powhatan had been 
stimulated to this treachery by certain disaffected 
persons in Jamestown, whom Smith had prevented 
from returning to England. 



220 SUPPLIES OBTAINED. 

During the progress of the excursion, several 
other companies of Indians pursued a similar course 
of conduct. In some places, however, they were 
treated with great kindness, especially at Moyaones, 
Nacotchtant, and Toags. When they had gone up 
as far as the stream would admit the boat, they met 
a number of savages coming down in canoes, well 
stocked with the flesh of bears, deer, and other 
animals, of whom our explorers obtained an abun- 
dant supply. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Another Mineral Fever. — Frying Pan and Fishes. — Accident. — 
Stingray. — Smith's Grave dag, but not used. — A disguised 
Boat. — Smith elected President. — Another Expedition. — A 
successful Artifice. — The Tockwoghs. — The acceptable False- 
hood. — Great Joy. — A Visit from the Sasquesahanocks. — They 
worship Smith, and offer him a Chieftaincy. — Treachery of the 
Rappahanocks. — Todkill's narrow Escape. — A novel Expe- 
dient. — More Deception. — Indians whipped into Peace. — A 
Cluster of Evils. 

After Smith and his company had received the 
supply of fresh meat, as related in the close of the 
last chapter, they discovered a place where the rocks 
and ground had a highly metallic appearance. One 
spot appeared like sand mingled with yellow span- 
gles, "as if it had been half pin dust." On their 
return, one of the chiefs gave them a guide to con- 
duct them to a mineral mountain. The hostages 
that they took with them wore the chains which they 
were to receive from the English as presents, and 
were proud to be thus adorned. 

The mine proved to be a rocky mountain, like 
antimony, or pot lead. It was soft, so as to be easy 
of excavation. The Indians dig out the ore, wash 
it in a brook of clear running water in the neigh- 
borhood, and then put it up in small bags to sell all 
over the country. They use it to paint their faces, 
19* 



222 ABUNDANCE OF FISH. 

bodies, and their idols, which makes them look 
" like blackamoors dusted over with silver." Smith 
collected as much of this mineral as the boat would 
carry, because Captain Newport, to whom some had 
been given, had assured him that he had assayed it, and 
found it to contain one half silver. He was doomed, 
however, to a disappointment ; all he collected proved 
to be worthless. It contained plenty of dirt, but no 
silver. \ 

In some places which they passed through, fish 
were "in such abundance that they filled the water. 
As the boat drove amongst them, it seemed as if 
they could be scooped up with a dipper, or a pail. 
Having nothing better for the purpose, Smith seized 
a frying pan, and attempted to catch some with that. 
But they were too alert for him. After speaking 
of their great abundance and good quality, he coolly 
adds, " but they are not to be caught with frying 
pans." 

In another place they found large numbers of 
fish of different kinds, which had been left by the 
ebb tide among the shallow water of the rushes. 
As the boat was aground, Smith amused himself by 
spearing them with his sword. His example was 
contagious. Soon the whole company were em- 
ployed in a similar manner. They found a sword 
a much better instrument for taking them than a 
frying pan. Whilst amusing themselves with this 



SMITH IN GREAT DANGER. 223 

kind of sport, a painful incident occurred, which 
came near proving fatal. 

Captain Smith pierced a fish of a very singidar 
shape, the extremity of whose body terminated in a 
long, narrow tail, resembling a riding whip, which 
was tipped with a venomous sting, two or three 
inches in length, and toothed on each side like a 
saw. Not knowing the nature, nor the habits, of the 
creature. Captain Smith attempted to remove it from 
his sword with his hands, in the same way he had 
the others, when it suddenly struck his wrist with 
its sting. No blood was drawn ; no wound was 
seen, except a red or blue spot ; yet the poison took 
immediate effect, for instantly he experienced ex- 
treme pain. His hand began to swell, then his arm, 
and then his shoulder, until, after four hours of in- 
tense suffering, he was considered beyond recovery, 
and the company commenced with great sorrow to 
make arrangements for his funeral. They even pro- 
ceeded so far as to dig his grave on an island near 
by, according to his directions. But by the inter- 
vention of a kind Providence, they had no occasion 
to use it. Dr. Russell probed the wound, and then 
applied an oil, which produced such favorable effects 
that before night the pain was subdued, the swelling 
relieved, and the patient so far restored, that he ate 
of the fish for his supper, to the great joy of all the 
party. The island, near which this occurred, they 
called Stingray Isle, after the fish. 



^24 SMITH CHOSEN PRESIDENT. 

When they entered James River on their way 
home, they disguised their boat with painted stream- 
ers and other devices in such a manner that she 
was taken for a Spanish frigate, and created great 
consternation in Jamestown, until the freak was dis- 
covered. They arrived there July 21. 

Smith found the affairs of the colony in a bad 
condition. The men who came from England by 
the last arrival were nearly all sick. The president, 
Ratcliffe, had been guilty of great extravagance, in 
squandering, for his own use, the property of the 
colony, and taxing those who could work with the 
unnecessary task of building him a pleasure house 
in the woods. So unpopular had he become, that 
nothing would appease the excitement of the colo- 
nists but his being deposed, and Smith elected in his 
place ; which was accordingly done. 

On the 24th of July, Captain Smith, after appoint- 
ing Mr. Scrivener president in his place during his 
absence, set out on another expedition, to finish the 
examination of Chesapeake Bay. Their first ad- 
venture consisted in their meeting, on the second or 
third day, with six or seven canoes filled with In- 
dians, who belonged to the powerful tribes of the 
Massawomecs, who are supposed to have been a 
part of the Iroquois, or Six Nations. Smith's com- 
pany consisted of twelve besides himself. But seven 
of these were sick, so that there were only five fit 



A CHi^GE PRODUCED. 225 

for service. Smith therefore resorted to stratagem. 
Covering up the sick under a tarpauhn, he took 
their hats, fixed them on poles, and placed them by 
the side of the barge between the men, so as to 
make the number of the company appear double 
what it was. To render the deception perfect, he 
gave to each of the men who were visible two guns, 
so that it might appear as if each hat were a man 
furnished with a musket. The trick was successful. 
The Indians, who at first bore down upon the Eng- 
lish as if they intended to attack them, checked their 
canoes, changed their course, and in a few moments 
fled from them with the greatest speed to the shore. 
They there carefully watched the barge, which had 
been following them, until she came to anchor. So 
suspicious were they that these visitors meditated 
some evil design against them, that it was a long 
time before any of them would venture to approach 
the barge, although the English made every friendly 
demonstration in their power. Finally, two of their 
number went off, unarmed, to open negotiations with 
the whites. They were followed at a distance by 
many of the others, who were ready to render as- 
sistance in case the two messengers should receive 
ill treatment. For this precaution there was, how- 
ever, no necessity. Smith's designs were peaceful 
and commercial ; he therefore exhibited the greatest 
friendliness to these two pioneers, and gave them 



226 AN ACCEPTABLE FALSEHOOD. 

each a bell. As soon as the others saw this exhibi- 
tion of kindness, they came around the barge in great 
numbers, bringing deer and bears' flesh, fish, bows, 
arrows, clubs, targets, and skins, which they pre- 
sented to the English, expecting, no doubt, something 
in return. They signified, by gestures, that they 
were at war with the Tockwoghs, and showed 
wounds upon their persons, which they said they 
had received in their conflicts with them. 

Leaving the Massawomeks, Smith pursued his 
voyage, and came next upon the Tockwoghs, with 
whom they were at war. As he entered the River 
Tockwogh, the savages came round him in great 
numbers, all armed and prepared for battle. One 
of them could speak in the language of Powhatan ; 
and when he saw the weapons of the Massawomeks, 
which Smith and his company had, he was anxious 
to learn how they were obtained. Smith, knowing 
well that the falsehood would please them, and would 
secure their protection, told them that he had had a 
conflict with the Massawomeks, and these were the 
trophies of his victory. When this was communi- 
cated to the savages, they sent up such a shout of 
triumph as rent the air like the hideous yells of so 
many demons. Not satisfied with this, they next 
conducted their visitors to their town, which was 
strongly protected by palisades, covered with bark, 
with scaffbld-like projections on the inside, screened 



THE SASqUESAHANOCKS. 227 

by a breastwork, from which they could safely send 
their arrows at their enemies. Mats were spread 
for them to sit on, and then wild songs were sung, 
and grotesque but characteristic dances were per- 
formed, with all the accompaniments of drums, gri- 
maces, contortions, and horrid noises. After this 
they brought fruit, peltries, and other articles of their 
rude manufacture, with which they made presents, 
or engaged in barter with the English. 

The voyagers were not a little surprised to see 
among these people pieces of iron, brass, hatchets, 
and knives of European manufacture. As these had 
not come from Jamestown, Smith inquired where 
they obtained them. They replied, from the Sas- 
quesahanocks. These were a tribe of natives inhab- 
iting the upper part of the bay, who were represented 
as being very large, strong, and brave. 

Smith persuaded a couple of Indians to go to 
these Sasquesahanocks, and carry to them an invita- 
tion to come and see him, as his boat could not get 
up to them, in consequence of the rocks in the river. 
After waiting three or four days, fifty or sixty of 
them came down, bringing venison, baskets, weap- 
ons, and tobacco pipes, three or four feet long. 
Five chiefs were in this company, who, leaving their 
men behind them, came boldly into the barge to 
cross the bay, the wind being so high as to make it 
dangerous for their canoes. 



228 INDIANS WORSHIP SMITH. 

It was the custom of the Enghsh, on this expedi- 
tion, to observe devotional services daily. They usu- 
ally had a prayer, with a psalm. This occasioned 
considerable astonishment among these Indians. 

After the Sasquesahanocks had witnessed the 
religious exercises of the party, they held a consulta- 
tion amongst themselves, as if to make arrangements 
for some ceremony. Their plans being completed, 
they commenced the execution of them. With pas- 
sionate gesticulations towards the sun, they began 
singing in a boisterous and excited manner ; at the 
same time advancing towards Captain Smith, they 
adored him as though they regarded him a Deity. 
He remonstrated with them, and endeavored to pre- 
vent the continuance of the ceremony, but without 
success. They persevered until their song was fin- 
ished. They then delivered an address in loud 
tones with violent gestures, in which they made pro- 
fessions of great love ; after which they arrayed 
Smith in an ornamented robe of bear's skin, and a 
great chain of white beads, weighing some eight 
pounds. Others brought beautiful mantles made of 
different skins sewed together, and various other 
articles of their own manufacture, and laid them at 
his feet as presents. 

After which, they ceremoniously stroked him about 
the head and neck with their hands, and earnestly 
desired him to become their chief and protector, 



AN ADVENTURE. 229 

promising him every thing in their possession if he 
would espouse their quarrels, and fight for them 
against the Massawomeks. 

Leaving this people, who professed great sorrow 
for their departure, the English had their next ad- 
venture with the Rappahanocks, on a river of that 
name. As was their usual custom, they first ex- 
changed a man with them as a hostage for good 
treatment. The name of the Englishman thus ex- 
changed was Todkill. After he had landed, he dis- 
covered a company of Indians lying in ambush, and 
cried out to his comrades in the boat that they were 
betrayed. At the same instant, the Indian hostage, 
who was in the boat, leaped overboard to make his 
escape ; but the man under whose special charge he 
was, shot at and killed him in the water. The 
whole party then attacked the Indians on the shore, 
who fled, not, however, without discharging volleys 
of arrows. Todkill had a narrow escape. He was 
stained with the blood of those who had held him, 
and who had been wounded by the English guns ; 
but he made good his retreat to the boat. The tar- 
gets which had been given to Smith by the Massa 
womeks now answered a valuable purpose ; for he 
erected them in the bow of the boat, so that they 
furnished a complete protection from the arrows of 
the enemy, behind which his men could, with perfect 
safety, discharge their muskets. 
20 



230 NOVEL STRATAGEM. 

The next day they had an opportunity of wit- 
nessing a novel stratagem of the Indians. As they 
were passing up the river, they noticed that arrows 
would occasionally strike against the targets which 
had been erected along the sides of the boat, and 
fall into the water ; but as no Indians were visible, 
they knew not whence they came. They noticed 
that amonofst the sedije which lined the shore of the 
river were some straggling bushes, but they could 
see no one amongst them. Presently an Indian, 
whom they had on board, cried out, " The Rappa- 
hanocks," and fell flat on his face. They then dis- 
covered that what they took for bushes growing in 
the water, were nothing but branches ingeniously 
carried by the Indians as a screen. They let fly a 
volley of musketry, when, as if by magic, the bushes 
disappeared, and a company of dusky forms were 
seen retreating to the land. So soon as the cunning 
savages gained the shore, as they were out of the 
reach of musket shot, they commenced singing and 
capering very merrily. 

They also experienced the treachery of the Ches- 
apeakes and Nansamunds. Being decoyed up a nar- 
row river, they were followed by seven or eight 
canoes full of men. Presently, from both sides of 
the river, arrows came pouring into them as rapidly 
as two or three hundred men could shoot them. 
Then those in the canoes engaged in the attack. 



SMITH CONQ,UERS A PEACE. 231 

The English opened upon them their fire-arms, which 
soon scattered them. They then seized their ca- 
noes, and commenced destroying them. When the 
Indians discovered their object, they became anxious 
to make peace. The loss of their canoes they would 
not easily get over. By signs they signified their 
wish for a parley. Smith told them that if they 
would bring their king's bows and arrows, with a 
chain of pearl, and furnish also four hundred baskets 
of corn, he would enter into a treaty of peace with 
them ; but if they refused, he would break all their 
boats, burn their houses, and destroy all their grain. 

They consented to the severe terms ; and Smith 
returned to Jamestown, taking with him as much 
corn as the boat would carry. 

He arrived there September 7, 1608, and found 
things, as they usually were during his absence, in a 
bad condition. The late president was in prison for 
mutiny, the provision in store much injured by the 
weather and vermin, some of the colonists sick, and 
many dead. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Smith installed Governor. — Newport returns. — Smith outvoted. — 
Pocahontas. — Her Amusements for Smith. — Powhatan's 
Haughtiness. — Inappropriate Presents. — A Coronation not 
understood. — Stingy Reciprocity. — The Manakins found. — 
Their Exclusiveness. — Seeking Merchandise. — Novel Employ- 
ment. — A queer Cure for Profanity. — Selfishness fatal to the 
general Good. — Newport dissatisfied. — Is glad to return to 
England. — Probably misrepresents the Colony. 

During his absence on the expedition which 
was described in the last chapter, Captain Smith 
explored the whole of Chesapeake Bay, with ' its 
smaller bays and inlets. He was gone nearly three 
months, and sailed, according to his own compu- 
tation, three thousand miles. He made a map of 
the bay and adjoining country, which, though it 
added to the geographical knowledge then possessed, 
is now valuable only as an object of curiosity. 

After his return to Jamestown, Smith, by the 
election of the council and the choice of all the 
colonists, accepted the appointment of governor, 
and was formally installed in office. 

He now set himself to work with his accustomed 
activity. The church and the storehouse were 
repaired ; buildings were arranged for the reception 
of supplies, which were expected ; the fort was 
reduced to a pentagon shape ; an order of sentinels 



NEWPORT ARRIVES. 233 

established, and the soldiers drilled. When the 
soldiers were firing at a mark, large crowds of 
Indians would sometimes gather around and look on 
with amazement to see the execution of their bul- 
lets upon the trees. 

Another expedition was fitted out to trade with 
the Indians. It was under the command of Lieu- 
tenant Percy ; but after they had reached the bay, 
they met a vessel, which proved to be from Eng- 
land, bringing Captain Newport and a company of 
fresh supplies. Percy returned with these to James- 
town. 

Captain Newport had received private instruc- 
tions, from the council in England, not to return 
without bringing a lump of gold, or discovering the 
South Sea, or one of the lost colonies of Sir Wal- 
ter Raleigh. He also brought over some expensive 
gifts for Powhatan. He was also empowered to act 
in certain cases independently of the local council. 

So soon as Newport disclosed his instructions. 
Smith was both mortified and perplexed. Instead 
of attempting these wild projects, he knew that the 
time (it being now about harvest) ought to be 
spent in vigorous efforts for procuring food, on 
which the colony might subsist, and that if this 
were not done, there would be much suffering be- 
fore many months. He therefore in the council 
urged his views. But Newport and those who 
20* 



234 POCAHONTAS AGAIN. 

sympathized with him overruled and outvoted him, 
and he even had the impudence to intimate that 
Smith was deterred from acting with him from 
fear of the Indians. This was touching the gov- 
ernor in a tender spot. He could not suffer his 
courage to be called in question ; and, therefore, 
although he regarded the policy of Newport as 
extremely injudicious, yet, as it had received the 
approval of the council, he yielded his own views, 
and consented to assist in its execution. He even 
offered to go himself to the residence of Powhatan, 
and invite him to come to Jamestown to meet Cap- 
tain Newport and receive his presents. 

With only four companions, he set out to find 
the Indian king. When he reached Werowocomoco, 
he crossed the River Pamaunkee, and there learned 
that Powhatan was thirty miles off. Smith had 
the pleasure of finding there his young and ami- 
able deliverer, Pocahontas. 

Whilst messengers were gone after Powhatan, 
Captain Smith and his companions were entertained 
by Pocahontas in the following strange, yet charac- 
teristic manner : Whilst the five Englishmen were 
sitting by a fire in an open, cleared field, they were 
startled by hideous yells and screeches which broke 
upon them from the surrounding woods, and sup- 
posing that Powhatan with his band of Indians had 
surprised them, and were about to kill or capture 



FEMALE AMUSEMENTS. 235 

them, they immediately sprang to their feet, and 
seized two or three old men who were at hand, 
either to use them as shields for their protection, as 
Smith had done on a former occasion, or with the 
hope that in some way, through their instrumen- 
tality, he might secure a friendly reception from 
Powhatan. 

Pocahontas saw their fears, and immediately 
made her appearance, assuring them that no harm 
was intended, and offering to deliver herself up to 
them to be killed, in case any injury were done 
them. Then a crowd of others, composed of men, 
women, and children, testified to the same thing. 
When they saw that the fears of the English were 
allayed, the sport proceeded in the following man- 
ner : Thirty young Indian damsels came out of 
the woods naked, with the exception of an apron 
of green leaves around them, with their bodies all 
painted, some of one color and some of another, 
but no two alike. The squaw who was at the 
head of this singular procession had upon her head 
a pair of buck's horns ; at her girdle an otter's 
skin ; on her arm another ; on her back hung a 
quiver full of arrows, and in her hand she carried 
a bow and arrow. The next had a sword, another 
a heavy club, another a pot stick ; and all carried 
something, with the addition of a pair of horns 
upon their heads. » These fiends," says the origi- 



236 FEASTING AND DANCING. 

nal account, " with most hellish shouts and cries, 
rushing from among the trees, cast themselves in 
a ring about the fire, singing and dancing with most 
excellent ill variety, oft falhng into their infernal 
passions, and solemnly again to sing and dance. 
Having spent near an hour in this mascarado, as 
they entered, in like manner they departed. 

" Having reaccommodated themselves, they soU 
emnly invited him to their lodgings, where he was 
no sooner within the house, but all these nymphs 
more tormented him than ever with crowding, 
pressing, and hanging about him, most tediously 
crying, * Love you not me 1 Love you not me 1 ' 
This salutation ended, the feast was set, consisting 
of all the savage dainties they could devise, some 
attending, others singing and dancing about them ; 
which mirth being ended, with firebrands instead 
of torches, they conducted him to his lodging. 

" Thus did they show their feats of arms, 
And others art in dancing ; 
Some other used their oaten pipe, 
And others voices chanting/' 

The next day, Powhatan returned, when Smith 
informed him that Captain Newport had arrived 
from England, and had brought with him many 
valuable presents, which he requested Powhatan to 
come to Jamestown and receive, and also to make 
arrangements to revenge themselves upon the Man- 



THE PRESENTS. 237 

akins. In addition to this message, he returned to 
Powhatan an Indian whom Newport had taken to 
England and brought safely back. 

The haughty and cunning Indian chief replied, 
that if the Ring of England had sent him any 
presents, as he was a king also, and that was his 
land, they ought to bring the presents to him, and 
not expect him to go to Jamestown after them. 
That was too foolish a bait to be taken. As for 
the Manakins, he could revenge his own wrongs 
upon them without the aid of the English. He 
would not, therefore, go to the colony. 

Smith also inquired if he knew of any salt water 
beyond the mountains, as some of the Indians had 
reported. Powhatan replied that all that his men 
had told them about salt water beyond the moun- 
tains was false. He then drew a map upon the 
ground, and illustrated the nature of the country. 

As Smith could not prevail upon him to go to 
Jamestown, he had to return without him, and 
carry his reply to Newport. Powhatan agreed to 
wait eight days for the presents to be brought to 
him. 

In Newport's estimation, no time was to be lost. 
The next day, therefore, he sent the presents by 
water, whilst himself, escorted by a guard of fifty 
men, crossed over by land. The two parties met 
at Werowocomoco, where the proud chief was in 
waiting. 



238 RIDICULOUS CEREMONY. 

The ridiculous ceremony of an Indian corona- 
tion was now attempted by Newport. The presents 
to Powhatan were brought forth, consisting of a 
basin and pitcher, bed and furniture, a scarlet cloak, 
and crown. The bed and furniture were set up, 
and then the ceremony of coronation commenced. 
Powhatan seems to have been fearful that some 
treachery was intended. He was unwilling to wear 
the cloak. It was not until after much ado, and 
he had been assured by Namontack that no injury 
was intended, that he allowed them to place it upon 
his shoulders. They now requested him to kneel 
in order to have the crown placed upon his head. 
But he, not understanding the meaning of majesty, 
nor the significancy of a crown, was no wise am- 
bitious for the coronation. He therefore would not 
kneel, or pretended that he knew not what they 
meant. They then set him an example by kneeling 
before him. He refused, and tired them all out by 
perseveringly resisting all their entreaties, persua- 
sions, and examples. Finally, by leaning heavily 
upon his shoulders, they made him bend a little, 
and then three of them, being ready, slipped the 
crown upon his head. A pistol was now fired as a 
signal to those in the boat that the royal ceremony 
was completed, when they fired such a volley as 
made the newly-crowned monarch spring to his feet 
in great consternation, as if he had been suddenly 



Powhatan's old shoes. 239 

attacked by an enemy." Being assured that all was 
right, he became calm. The whole scene must 
have been supremely ridiculous. 

After this farce was over, Powhatan, as a return 
for the courtesy and the presents he had received, 
gave Captain Newport his old shoes and his mantle 
— a very poor return for the handsome donations 
of the English. 

When Powhatan learned from the inquiries of 
Newport, that his design was to discover and visit 
the Manakins, he refused to give him any directions, 
or to furnish him with any other guide than Namon- 
tack. After the exchange of a few more civilities, 
the chief gave Newport some seven or eight bush- 
els of unshelled corn, to which was added as much 
more by purchase. He then returned, without ac- 
complishing any thing of importance, to James|own. 

Not to be baffled in his object, Newport set out 
again with a number of others to discover these 
Manakins, and was successful. He came across 
two of their villages, where he was treated with 
perfect indifference. Yet he took one of the subor- 
dinate chiefs, whom he bound and compelled to be 
his guide. He also examined the country for 
mines, and discovered some ore which one William 
Callicut, a professional refiner of metals, told him 
contained a small qhantity of silver ; " and," says 
Smith, " (not unhkely) better stuff might be had 



240 SEEKING FOR MERCHANDISE. 

for the digging." The Indians extended no civil- 
ities whatever. They concealed their corn ; they 
refused to trade ; and to hasten the departure of 
the English from them, the natives told them that a 
fleet of vessels had entered the bay for the purpose 
of destroying Jamestown. This had the desired 
eifect. The explorers turned their faces homeward, 
where they arrived half sick, all complaining, fa- 
tigued with toil, weakened by hunger, and cha- 
grined with disappointment. The adventure ter- 
minated just as Captain Smith had predicted, with- 
out any valuable results. 

Soon after their return, the president sent small 
parties in different directions to look for tar, pitch, 
glass, and soap ashes. A company of thirty he 
took with himself five miles down the river, to teach 
them how to fell trees, make clapboards, and lodge 
in the woods. Among them were two gentlemen 
— Gabriel Beadle and John Russel — unaccustomed 
to work, who at first engaged in the object with 
great zeal. To cut down large trees, and hear 
them fall like thunder to the earth, and to cook, 
eat, and sleep under the open canopy of heaven, 
was full of novelty, strangeness, and excitement to 
them. They enjoyed the sport finely, making the 
dim old woods echo to their jokes, their laughter, 
and their songs. It was not long before their del- 
icate hands were blistered by the axe, when their 



NOVEL CURE FOR PROFANITY. 241 

tune was changed, and they gave expression to their 
feelings in dreadful oaths and curses. Captain 
Smith, the president, devised a novel expedient to 
check their profanity, which was to have all their 
oaths numbered, and at night, to have a can of cold 
water poured down the transgressor's sleeve for 
every oath he had uttered through the day, " which 
so washed and drenched the offender, that in a 
short time, an oath was scarcely heard in a week." 

Those who were left at the fort failing to obtain 
any provision, it became necessary for Smith to go 
upon an excursion for that purpose. Taking two 
barges, he pushed off to Chickahominy, where he 
soon learned that it was the policy of Powhatan to 
starve the English out by withholding food. He 
therefore told them that he had not come so much 
for corn, as to revenge himself upon them for his 
captivity, and for the death of the men they had 
murdered. He boldly landed his men, and made 
demonstrations as if he intended to attack them. 
This brought them to terms, and they immediately 
sent ambassadors, with corn, fish, fowl, and what- 
ever else they had, to negotiate peace. They 
freisrhted the boats with over a hundred bushels of 
corn, and then parted on good terms. 

It was unfortunate for the infant colony that the 
settlers, instead of seeking the general good, were 
intent upon promoting their own private interests. 
21 



242 PRIVATE AGAINST PUBLIC GOOD. 

Sailors, soldiers, and mechanics, had formed such 
intimate relations with the natives, that they traded 
together in the most intimate manner. Two evil 
results followed this course of procedure. In the 
first place, the public weal of the colony was un- 
cared for ; and in the second place, the merchan- 
dise of the colony disappeared with great rapidity. 
Every man became a trader on his own account ; 
and what articles could not be obtained from the 
public stores by fair means, were abstracted in other 
ways ; so that in the course of six or seven weeks, 
of two or three hundred axes, hoes, pickaxes, and 
other utensils, scarce twenty remained They had 
been traded off to the Indians for furs, baskets, and 
young animals. Their stores of pike-heads, powder, 
and shot had disappeared in the same way. 

The affairs of the colony being in an unsatis- 
factory condition, Captain Newport became dissatis- 
fied. He therefore stated that his orders were not 
to return to England without a lump of gold, a 
discovery of the South Sea, or one of Sir Walter 
Raleigh's lost company. On this account, the pres- 
ident formed the determination to send away the 
vessel, and oblige Newport to remain in the coun- 
try a year, that he might be able to report the 
state of things from his own prolonged experi- 
ence and observation. To this arrangement New- 
port was most strongly opposed. It would have 



NEWPORT RETURNS TO ENGLAND. 243 

been to him a severe punishment. Upon his sub- 
mission and acknowledgment, therefore, he was 
permitted to return, where, it was beUeved, he 
made the worst possible report of the state of 
the colonv. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Trials. — Powhatan's Invitation. — Smith visits him. — Keeps 
Christmas. — Powhatan's Deception. — A vilianous Plot. — Poc- 
ahontas defeats it. — She declines Rewards. — Distressing Ca- 
lamity. — A Messenger to Smith. — His Life sought. — Pocahon- 
tas conceals and saves him. — A supposed Miracle. — Mysterious 
Explosion. — Ratcliffe and others slain. — Pocahontas saves a 
Boy. — Unparalleled Sufierings. — Large Numbers die. — The 
Town abandoned. — Lord Delaware arrives. — The Settlers 
return. — A Sermon. — Lord Delaware's Promptness and En- 
ergy. — The Colony revived. 

After the departure of Captain Newport, the 
colonists passed through many trials. Not only were 
they afflicted by sickness, and the want of food, but 
also by the secret plotting of the Indians against 
them. They knew not whom to trust. Those who 
made the strongest professions of friendship cher- 
ished the most perfidious designs. There was, how- 
ever, a most remarkable exception, in the case of 
the amiable and benevolent Pocahontas. She re- 
mained true to the interests of the English when her 
friends and relatives turned against them. We have 
already related her remarkable interposition in be- 
half of Captain Smith, by means of which he expe- 
rienced a marvellous deliverance from death, when 
the hand of the executioner was raised for his de- 
struction, and also her frequent visits and donations 



Powhatan's invitation. 245 

of food to the colony, when, if it had not been for 
this kindness, they would have greatly suffered. 

We shall now resume her history, and group to- 
gether in the following pages the subsequent events 
of her life. Her father. King Powhatan, sent an 
invitation to Captain Smith to make him a visit, with 
a promise that he would fill his vessel with corn, on 
condition that he would send men to build him a 
house, present him a grindstone, fifty swords, some 
guns, and two fowls, with a large quantity of copper 
and beads. Although Smith suspected him of In- 
dian duplicity, he yet availed himself of the oppor- 
tunity, which this invitation presented, of seeing 
Powhatan, and obtaining from him a supply of food, 
which they greatly needed. He sent off before him 
two Englishmen and four Germans, by land, to erect 
the house which Powhatan had desired. This fact 
furnished evidence to Powhatan that his proposals 
were received in good faith, from which he might 
have inferred that the English would visit him en- 
tirely unsuspicious of his treacherous designs. 

Smith took with him the bark and two barges, 
manned with those only who offered voluntarily to 
accompany him, leaving Mr. Scrivener as his sub- 
stitute, to manage the affairs of the colony during 
his absence. 

The party left Jamestown December 29, 1608 : 
the same evening they reached Warrasqueake, the 
21* 



•246 TREACHERY REVEALED. 

chief of which endeavored to dissuade them from 
proceeding farther. Finding himself unsuccessful, 
he informed them that kind treatment awaited them 
at the hand of Powhatan, although his design in 
sending for them was to cut their throats. 

The next night they reached Kicquotan, where 
they were detained by a severe storm of rain and 
snow six or seven days. They managed, however, 
to compensate for the inconveniences of the storm 
by their merriment and good cheer. Among these 
wild Indians they celebrated the festival of Christmas. 
Whilst the tempest was howling without, and the trees 
of the forest were falling before the blast, they were 
comfortably sheltered in the wigwams of the natives, 
where they were " never more merry in their lives, 
lodged by better fires, or fed with greater plenty of 
good bread, oysters, fish, flesh, and wild fowl." 

When the storm abated, they proceeded on their 
voyage, and reached Werowocomoco, the residence 
of Powhatan, on the 12th of January. After great 
difficulty from the ice and frozen mud, they finally 
succeeded in landing, and then sent to Powhatan 
for food, who furnished them with bread, turkey, 
and venison, and feasted them according to his usual 
custom ; after which, the deceitful chief told them 
he had not sent for them, that he and his people 
were destitute of corn, and that he was anxious to 
have them be gone. Smith was not to be trifled 



INDIAN EFFRONTERY. 247 

with in that manner; he therefore called the mes- 
sengers, who had brought him the invitation, and 
confronted Powhatan with them. The chief tried 
to turn it off with a laugh ; and to divert attention 
from his deception, he immediatelj asked for the 
articles with which they intended to barter. Noth- 
ing, however, suited him, except guns and swords. 
And whilst he wanted the most important commodi- 
ties that Smith possessed, he, at the same time, held 
his grain at such a high rate as made it bad econ- 
omy for the English to trade with him. He even 
had the effrontery to value a basket of corn higher 
than a basket of copper, saying, " he could rate his 
corn, but not the copper." 

Much negotiation passed between the two parties. 
The English desired to preserve peace, and obtain 
stores by fair and friendly trade. Powhatan pro- 
fessed to be governed by a similar spirit, but was 
evidently laboring to circumvent his visitors and 
secure their destruction. Unfortunately for Smith, 
the Germans whom he had sent to build the chief's 
house, being enamoured of the abundance and the 
freedom of the Indians, took sides with the chief, 
and assisted in plotting the overthrow of the col- 
onists. 

After long debate, in which much skill was dis- 
played on both sides, Smith succeeded in purchasing 
about a hundred and sixty bushels of corn for a 



248 POCAHONTAS A DELIVERER AGAIN. 

copper kettle : one half of the grain was paid at the 
time, and the other half was to be furnished next 
year. After this, Powhatan indulged in an inge- 
nious harangue on the advantages of peace over 
war, and reproved Smith for not exhibiting more 
confidence in him, by leaving behind him his weap- 
ons, as himself had done. Smith knew that this was 
only an artifice to gain time and secure a favorable 
opportunity for cutting him and his party off. He 
therefore resolved to resort to similar measures for 
a similar purpose. Professing great friendliness, 
Smith obtained Indians to break the ice, so that his 
boats might come to land and receive the corn ; at 
the same time he ordered more men ashore to assist 
him in the execution of a plot he had formed to 
seize Powhatan. As the tide fell, he and his men 
were obliged to remain on land longer than they 
had previously intended to. Powhatan resolved to 
take advantage of the circumstance, and treacher- 
ously murder them before they could leave. The 
English were in great danger. The plot for their 
destruction would probably have been successful if 
it had not been for Pocahontas. 

Her interest in the English was not abated. She 
desired their welfare, and was determined to promote 
it at all hazards. When she learned that her father 
had decreed the death of the English, she was anx- 
ious to learn the plan by which it was to be effected. 



THE PLOT. 249 

I 

Her ears were open to catch every word. As she 
loitered, in apparent carelessness, among the wig- 
wams, or sauntered around amongst the men, saying 
little but hearing all, she soon became acquainted 
with the whole scheme. In a few hours the dread- 
ful deed would be consummated, and no traces of 
the English be left but the ground stained with their 
blood ! She resolved to save them. To accom- 
plish this no time was to be lost. The fatal hour 
was rapidly approaching. All would be over before 
the return of the tide. The cabins which Smith and 
his party occupied were at some distance from those 
of Powhatan. To secure his deliverance it was 
necessary that he should be informed of his danger. 
To accomplish this without detection required great 
courage and address. The young damsel was equal 
to the task. Under the cover of the darkness, the 
Indians were to go in friendly guise, with hos- 
pitable proffers of food, to the English, and then 
seize their opportunity to fall upon them unexpect- 
edly, and destroy them. Yet under the protection 
of that same friendly darkness, the youthful Poca- 
hontas slips from her father's wigwam, where great 
preparations are in progress for the execution of the 
conspiracy, and silently steals off alone to the cabin 
of the English. Fortunately she is not noticed by 
her own people. She arrives in safety, and informs 
Captain Smith that in a short time his enemies will 



250 POCAHONTAS REVEALS IT. 

be upon liim ; they will come with kindness on their 
lips, with presents in their hands, and with murder 
in their hearts. 

" They will bring you good cheer ; but whilst 
you are eating it, they will fall upon and kill you. 
Or if they cannot do it then, the chief, my father, 
who will follow them with large numbers of men, 
will suddenly attack you and murder you at supper. 
If you want to escape you must leave at once." 

Smith was grateful to her for her information, and 
was disposed to reward her for her kindness. 

Some might be inclined to the opinion that she 
was induced to manifest this interest in the English 
for the presents she would receive. As children 
generally are amused with toys, it might be supposed 
that a young Indian girl would be especially pleased 
by the very curious and wonderful articles which 
the English could give her, and for that reason 
might be induced to give them what she believed to 
be acceptable and valuable information, though at 
great risk to herself. 

But the conduct of Pocahontas shows that this 
motive had no influence with her, for when Captain 
Smith offered her various interesting objects as a 
reward for her conduct, she positively and firmly 
declined receiving them. She told him, with the 
tears streaming down her cheeks, that she dared not 
accept them, for if her father knew that she had 



THE PLOT DEFEATED. 251 

them, he would immediately put her to death. Hav- 
ing accompUshed her object, she ran hastily home, 
and slipped in among the conspirators, where she 
appeared as if nothing had happened, and escaped 
detection. 

In less than an hour, eight or ten large, brave, 
muscular Indians came to the English, bringing with 
them platters of venison and other food, as friendly 
presents. As the English had their matches burn- 
ing, ready to fire in case of an attack, the natives 
pretended that the smoke made them sick, and asked 
that they might be extinguished. This was declined. 
The intelligence which had been communicated by 
Pocahontas awakened suspicion in the mind of Smith 
that the food which they so cheerfully offered was 
poisoned. He therefore made them taste of every 
dish, and then sent by some of them a message to 
Powhatan, to hasten his coming, for the English 
were prepared to receive him. Presently other spies 
made their appearance, to see how matters were pro- 
gressing. Each party was too suspicious and vigi- 
lant for the other to get any advantage. The In- 
dians reconnoitred the English, noticed their constant 
preparedness for an attack, and hence deemed it the 
wiser course not to molest them. When the tide 
returned. Smith and his company departed, greatly 
indebted to Pocahontas for the information she had 
given, though at the risk of her own life, and by 



252 DISTRESSING CALAMITY. 

means of which they had heen dehvered from the 
destruction which was prepared for them. 

Whilst Captain Smith was on this excursion to 
the Indians, an affecting calamity occurred at James- 
town. Mr. Scrivener, whom he had left in charge 
of affairs there, went with several others on a visit 
to Hog Island. Among the company were Captain 
Waldo, who had received strict orders not to leave 
Jamestown, but to remain there prepared to render 
aid to the president at a moment's warning, and Mr. 
Anthony Gosnold, brother to Bartholomew Gosnold, 
who discovered and named Cape Cod. There were 
eleven in all. They imprudently embarked in a frail 
skiff, which would have been unsuitable for the pur- 
pose in the mild season of summer, when the water 
was free from ice and unruffled by storms, but which 
rendered the enterprise especially hazardous at the 
present time. The weather was cold and boisterous. 
The skiff being too heavily loaded, and the waves 
rolling with unusual strength and magnitude, she 
swamped, and all on board perished ! This sad 
catastrophe involved the colony in deep gloom. 
Smith being absent, and their principal men drowned, 
those who remained at Jamestown were at a loss 
what course to pursue. 

It was proposed to send a messenger immediately 
to carry the mournful intelligence to the president. 
But who will go ? It was known to be a dangerous 



POCAHONTAS PROTECTS THE MESSENGER. 253 

errand, requiring great courage, self-possession, and 
address, in order to pass safely through the Indians 
who would be met on the way, and find the presi- 
dent, and therefore all declined to undertake the 
perilous service, except Mr. Richard Wyffin. He 
set out alone, and proceeded amidst great difficulties 
to Werowocomoco, the residence of Powhatan. To 
his great regret he found that Smith had left before 
his arrival. Whilst here he noticed such extensive 
preparations for war as convinced him that Powhatan 
had some evil object in view. He soon had reason 
to believe that these preparations were intended to 
be used against the English, from the fact that his 
own life was sought. It was important that some 
one acquainted with that fact should give him in- 
formation, and extend to him concealment. Who 
would do this ? Certainly not one of Powhatan's 
warriors. They were too much interested in the 
success of the plot. Nothing would have given them 
greater pleasure than the seizure of this messenger. 
Their wives, doubtless, sympathized with them, or 
if any of them did not, they could hold no communi- 
cation with this newly-arrived Englishman without 
detection, when their lives would be the forfeit. 
And yet, if the design of Powhatan be not revealed 
speedily, this visitor will be held as a captive, and, 
if policy requires, put to death. 

At this critical period the youthful Pocahontas 
22 



254 SHE SAVES WYFFIN. 

appears again as the guardian angel of the white 
man, and by some ingenious device manages to com- 
municate to him that a sword is suspended over his 
head. He must flee. But where 1 His trail will 
be discovered ; he will be pursued, overtaken, and 
brought back. She undertakes to be his protector. 
She secretly conceals him until he can leave in some 
degree of safety, doubtless supplying him, in the 
mean time, with food to sustain life. So soon as a 
convenient opportunity presents itself, he cautiously 
leaves his concealment and departs. Soon the pur- 
suers are after him, like bloodhounds after game. 
They come to where Pocahontas is, and ask if 
she knows the direction he has taken. Yes, yes, 
the damsel knows, but she is too wise to inform 
them ; and, to save the pursued, she directs them in 
the opposite course to that which he has taken ; she 
puts them upon a false scent, and they start off; the 
farther they go, the wider becomes the distance be- 
tween them and the object of their pursuit. In this 
manner, through the instrumentality of Pocahontas, 
Wyffin successfully escaped, and after great hard- 
ships and embarrassments from the Indians whom 
he met, some of whom he had to heavily bribe, he 
succeeded in finding Smith at Pamunkey, where 
Opechancanough was plotting to murder him and 
all his company. 

When the painful intelligence of the disaster at 



THE COLONY DOOMED. 255 

Jamestown was communicated to Smith, he made 
the messenger swear that he would not reveal it to 
any of the men, as he knew that the effect would be 
to greatly dishearten them, and by consequence to 
unnerve and unfit them for the exigencies they were 
yet to meet. 

Smith assumed a cheerful countenance, so that 
the men might not suspect that the newly-arrived 
messenger from home was the bearer of unwelcome 
tidings, and at night embarked on board his vessels 
and returned. 

At this time Powhatan had determined to kill 
Captain Smith and overthrow the colony. He had 
gone so far as actually to threaten death upon his 
own men if they did not by some means murder 
him. All the Indians were therefore on the alert to 
be the executioners of the president. Wherever 
he went, he met vexatious embarrassments from the 
natives, the object of which was to bring about such 
circumstances as would favor his seizure. But Smith 
was too vigilant and sagacious for them. 

Two events now occurred which produced a great 
change in the opinions and policy of the Indians 
respecting the English. 

A pistol had been stolen by an Indian ; and two 
brothers, also natives, who were known to be con- 
federates with the thief, were seized. In order to 
regain the pistol, one of the brothers was imprisoned, 



256 A SUPPOSED MIRACLE. 

and the other was sent after the stolen article, with 
instructions to return with it in twelve hours, or his 
brother should be hanged. During his absence the 
president ordered a fire to be kindled in his cell, and 
supplied him with charcoal for fuel. As the venti- 
lation of the place was bad, the foul air engendered 
by the burning charcoal overcame the Indian, and 
he fell senseless. When his brother returned, and 
the cell was opened, he was found lying upon the 
floor motionless and breathless. As he was badly 
burned, the probability is, that he fell in the fire. The 
brother, believing him to be dead, was deeply grieved, 
and mourned over him so lamentably that the presi- 
dent, to comfort him, said that, if he would promise 
never again to steal, he would restore his brother to 
life. The afflicted man had little hope that it could 
be done. However, by the liberal use of vinegar 
and spirits the fainted Indian was revived. But as, 
when first recovered, he appeared to be wild and 
crazy, his brother was as deeply grieved as before. 
Upon promise of good behavior, the president offered 
to remove that malady, and restore him to perfect 
health. To accomplish this, he caused him to he 
down and take a nap, after which he was as well as 
ever, except the effects of his burns. These being 
dressed, and a piece of copper being given them, 
they went away well pleased ; and it was soon 
currently reported among all the savages that 



AN EXPLOSION. 257 

Captain Smith had power to raise the dead to 
Ufe! 

The other event, which to them was so marvel- 
lous, was this : One of Powhatan's Indians by some 
means got possession of a large bag of powder and the 
back of an armor. To show his great knowledge 
and skill in the use of this wonderful article, he 
spread the powder upon the back of the armor, and 
attempted to dry it over the fire, as he had seen the 
English at Jamestown do.. A number of his com- 
panions gathered around, and looked over the armor 
to see his success. Unfortunately, the poor fellow 
did not know so much as he thought he did ; for he 
kept the armor over the fire till it got too hot, when 
the powder exploded, blew him to death, killed 
one or two more, and burned the rest so severely 
that they had no desire afterwards to meddle with 
this mysterious article. These two events, with 
others of a similar character, " so amazed and 
affrighted both Powhatan and his people, that from 
all parts with presents they desired peace ; return- 
ing many stolen things which we never demanded 
nor thought of; and after that, those that were 
taken stealing, both Powhatan and his people have 
sent them back to Jamestown to receive punishment ; 
and all the country became absolutely as free for 
us as for themselves." 

It was not long, however, before the troubles of 
22* 



258 POCAHONTAS SAVES A BOY. 

the colony began to be renewed. Food again 
became so scarce, dissensions so violent, and the In- 
dians so treacherous, that all comfort was destroyed. 
Their trials were increased by the departure of Cap- 
tain Smith to England. 

The Hon. George Percy, who was left pres- 
ident in his place, not understanding the Indian 
character, or being destitute of tact and courage 
in deahng with them, soon met with some severe 
disasters. 

One of his officers, Captain Ratcliffe, with a small 
ship and thirty or forty men, visited Powhatan for 
purposes of trade. He appears to have been re- 
ceived in a courteous manner by the chief, who 
made fair professions, and by whose friendly ap- 
pearance Ratchffe was thrown off his guard, when 
he and thirty of his men were slain. Again Poc- 
ahontas presents herself as a messenger of mercy. 
Though her influence was too weak to prevent this 
effusion of blood, yet she succeeded in saving a 
boy, whose name was Henry Spilman, and who 
lived for many years by her means among the 
Potomacs. 

On every occasion when she could be of any as- 
sistance, Pocahontas was ready to serve the English. 
If she could not aid them one way, she would 
another ; and by these important services she proved 
herself their sincere and unchanging friend. 



DREADFUL SUFFERINGS. 259 

After the departure of Captain Smith, the colony 
passed through a period of ahnost unparalleled 
sufferings. At first, the live stock of the settlement 
was wastefully consumed by the prodigal officers, or 
stolen by the Indians, so that they were glad to pur- 
chase a little food from the natives in exchange for 
swords, firelocks, and other weapons ; by which 
means the Indians became qualified to inflict upon 
them greater injury than ever. Starch, horseflesh, 
the skins of horses, yea, any thing, which, by being 
softened and cooked in any way, could be eaten, 
was converted into food. To such horrid straits 
were they driven, that some of them dug up the 
body of an Indian, who had been slain and buried, 
and feasted upon him ! Others took the bodies of 
their friends who died, boiled and stewed them with 
roots and herbs to give them a flavor, and used 
them for food ! It would seem as if human nature 
could not descend to any thing more revolting than 
this ; yet there were lower depths, and our pen hesi- 
tates to record the repulsive and abominable fact 
that one man murdered his own wife, pulverized 
her, and had eaten a portion of her before his crime 
was discovered, for which he was subsequently exe- 
cuted. So extreme were the sufferings of the col- 
ony at this period, that for many years afterwards 
it was spoken of as " the starving time." Its im- 
mediate effects upon the settlement were peculiarly 



260 MANY DIE. 

disastrous. About five hundred persons whom Cap- 
tain Smith left, at the time of his departure for 
England, were reduced, in the course of six months, 
to the small number of sixty ! Four hundred and 
forty persons died in half a year, chiefly from the 
want of food ! Those who survived were in a mis- 
erable condition — moving skeletons, living upon a 
scanty supply of acorns, nuts, berries, and occasion- 
ally a few fish. Without relief from abroad, they 
could not have survived ten days longer. They 
must all have died of starvation. A kind Provi- 
dence so ordered it, that just at this time, when 
they were reduced to their lowest extremity, sup- 
plies arrived from England. 

It is difficult to conceive the joy which the sur- 
vivors of that perishing colony experienced, when, 
upon the 24th of May, 1610, Sir Thomas Gates 
and Sir George Somers made their appearance, 
bringing abundant supplies of food from home. It 
was a day of great gladness. It filled the hearts 
of the despairing with hope, and inspired the dying 
with new life. 

When " these two noble knights " became ac- 
quainted with the state of the colony, they were 
painfully aff*ected. As so large a proportion of the 
settlers had died, as the survivors were so weak, 
and as there was so little union and enterprise 
amongst them, it was considered the wiser course 



JAMESTOWN ABANDONED. 261 

to take them all back to England. Accordingly 
they all embarked for that purpose. Many of 
them were exceedingly anxious to hav^e the town 
and fort which, though rude, had been erected at 
great labor and expense, burned to the ground. 
They earnestly entreated that this might be done. 
But Sir Thomas Gates refused to comply with their 
wishes. It would have been a useless and wicked 
destruction of property. The wisdom of Gates's 
policy was soon manifest ; for, after sailing a short 
distance down the river, they met Lord Delaware, 
who had been appointed Captain General of Vir- 
ginia, coming up with a fleet of three ships, la- 
den with stores, farming utensils, weapons, and 
all kinds of necessaries. He caused them all to 
return to Jamestown. The good sense of Sir 
Thomas Gates in preventing the destruction of 
the town was now apparent, as it gave them all 
homes to go to ; when, if their own unreasonable 
requests had been granted, they would have been 
houseless. 

On the 10th of June, Lord Delaware landed at 
the settlement. After listening to a sermon, he 
read his commission, and immediately proceeded to 
business. He soon ascertained the true state of 
things, when, by cashiering some of the officers, 
appointing new ones, allotting to every man some 
particular kind of service, and giving them all an 



262 LORD DELAWARE. 

address, in which was good advice blended with 
threats of punishment to the obstinate, he suc- 
ceeded in estabhshing affairs upon a favorable 
footing, and infusing into the whole colony new 
vigor. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Pocahontas concealed. — Treacherous Japazaws. — His cunning 
Plot. — Pocahontas betrayed. — She becomes captive to Ar- 
gall. — Copper Kettle. — Powhatan's Policy. — A Truce. — 
Pocahontas and her Brothers. — Messengers to Powhatan. — 
Are unsuccessful. — Pocahontas in Love. — She marries an 
Englishman. — Effects of her Marriage. — She is instructed in 
Religion. — Is converted. — Her different Names. — Stith's Tes- 
timony of her. 

It seems somewhat remarkable that, after Cap- 
tain Smith's departure from Jamestown, in 1609, 
Pocahontas was not seen there again till 1611. It 
is conjectured that, being disgusted with the conduct 
of the English, she retired to the Potomac River, 
that she might not witness the murders which fre- 
quently occurred there. Their subsequent treat- 
ment of her evinces her discretion in putting a 
wide distance between herself and them, for the 
next chapter in her history was the experience of 
English treachery. The circumstances were as 
follows : In 1612, Captain Argall arrived at James- 
town from England. The stores which at that 
time were brought not being sufficient for the 
wants of the colony, he was sent to the Potomac 
to trade with the Indians there, as they were not 
quite so unfriendly to the English as were Powhatan 
and his followers. Upon his arrival there, Argall 



264 POCAHONTAS IN CONCEALMENT. 

soon formed an acquaintance with Japazavvs, the 
chief of the Potomacs, who had formerly been on 
friendly terms with Captain Smith and the English, 
and who was willing to perpetuate that friendship 
through his acquaintance with the new captain. 

At that time, Pocahontas, who was then seven- 
teen or eighteen years of age, was living in con- 
cealment among the Potomacs, the place of her 
seclusion being known to only a few confidential 
friends. Argall became possessed of the fact, and 
immediately determined to make her, if possible, a 
prisoner, and use her as the means of effecting a 
treaty of peace with Powhatan. He accordingly 
proposed to give Japazavvs a copper kettle if he 
would bring Pocahontas on board the vessel. To 
the eye of this ignorant savage, a copper kettle 
was invested with great attractions. It was a 
temptation too strong for resistance ; and for this 
reward he agreed to betray a helpless young girl 
who had unsuspectingly committed herself to his 
protection. It may serve to extenuate somewhat 
tlie treacliery of this Indian, that Captain Argall 
j)romised him that Pocahontas should receive noth- 
ing but good treatment ; that his object was not to 
injure her, but simply retain her as a prisoner till 
he could negotiate a treaty of friendship with Pow- 
hatan, her father. 

It now became a question of some difficulty. 



POCAHONTAS ENTRAPPED. 265 

How shall this treachery be executed without Poc- 
ahontas detecting it ? She had no desire to 
see the English, and no curiosity to examine the 
vessel, having seen many before. Some other 
motive must be resorted to, some secret plan de- 
vised. Japazaws therefore made his wife feign 
great anxiety to see the inside of the ship, and told 
her she must frequently entreat liim for permission 
to go on board. He, in the mean time, would 
refuse his consent, until her importunity should 
become so great that he would threaten to beat her 
if she did not desist. All this was to be communi- 
cated to Pocahontas, and after a while he would 
give his consent, provided Pocahontas would accom- 
pany her. In this manner, they planned to make 
the kindness of Pocahontas the means of her cap- 
ture. The bait so cunningly prepared took with 
the unsuspicious, confiding girl. When she saw 
how great was the desire of the wife of Japazaws 
to visit the vessel, and that her husband would give 
his permission only on condition that she would 
accompany her, such was her obliging disposition 
that she at once consented to go. 

Captain Argall received them with great cour- 
tesy, and gave them an entertainment in the cabin. 
When a convenient opportunity offered, the captain 
invited Pocahontas into the gun room, in order to 
conceal from her that Japazaws was any wise con- 



266 POCAHONTAS BETRAYED FOR A KETTLE. 

cerned in her capture. After he had given the 
chief the promised kettle, he told them Pocahontas 
was his prisoner, and she must remain on board the 
vessel, go to Jamestown, and assist in bringing 
about friendly relations between Powhatan and the 
English. At this, the hypocritical Japazaws and 
wife began to howl and cry in the most distressed 
manner. They appeared to be more deeply over- 
whelmed with sorrow than Pocahontas, though she 
also wept freely ; but by the explanations, prom- 
ises, and persuasions of the captain, she was grad- 
ually pacified. In this deceitful manner, they 
blinded the eyes of the poor girl to the fact that 
she was betrayed by her own friends. 

Japazaws and his wife, having received the cop- 
per kettle and a few other toys, went ashore satis- 
fied, leaving the noble-minded Pocahontas a captive 
behind them. In this capacity she was taken back 
to .Tamestown, which she had not visited since the 
departure of Captain Smith. 

Intelligence was immediately sent to her father, 
that his daughter was held a captive by the Eng- 
lish, and he must ransom her by returning the 
men, guns, and tools which he and his people had 
stolen from Jamestown. Powhatan was greatly 
perplexed by this communication. He knew not 
what to do. He loved his daughter, and would 
have rejoiced at her release ; but, at the same time, 



POWHATAN PERPLEXED. 267 

he strongly desired to retain the men and commod- 
ities which he had deceitfully obtained from the 
English. The consequence was, that he made no 
reply to the proposal of Captain Argali for three 
months; and then he sent to Jamestown seven Eng- 
lishmen, each bearing a broken, useless musket ; 
saying that all the other weapons were either stolen 
or lost; yet, when they released his daughter, he 
would make ample satisfaction for all injuries wbich 
they had experienced from his people ; would give 
them five hundred bushels of corn, and ever after- 
wards be their friend. With this offer the English 
were not satisfied. They replied that they did not 
believe that the rest of the articles were stolen or 
lost, and that they would keep Pocahontas till he 
sent them all back, treating her, however, in the 
mean time, with kindness. With this answer, Pow- 
hatan was so much offended, that he had no com- 
munication with them for a long time afterwards. 

Finally, Sir Thomas Dale took Pocahontas, and 
went in Argall's ship to Werowocomoco, Powhatan's 
residence. Upon his arrival there, the chief was 
absent. Dale informed the Indians that he had 
come to deliver up Pocahontas ; but he received 
from them only insults and bravadoes. " If you 
have come to fight, you are welcome ; but we ad- 
vise, you to return, or you will receive the same 
treatment as we gave Captain Ratcliffe." As Dale 



268 BROTHERS OF POCAHONTAS VISIT HER, 

had his own opinion as to what he had better do, he 
paid no other heed to their advice than to engage 
in conflict with them. After some fighting, attended 
with the destruction of a number of their houses, 
they came to terms, and sent messengers after Pow- 
hatan. As, however. Dale discovered certain treach- 
erous proceedings on their part, he told them that 
he would give them a truce till noon of the next 
day ; and if by that time the articles which they 
had stolen from the English were not returned, or 
a direct answer to his demands given, they might 
expect to be attacked — the signal of which would 
be the sound of their trumpets and drums. 

Two of Powhatan's sons took advantage of this 
truce, and went on board the vessel to see their 
sister. Having previously heard that she was not 
well, they were greatly rejoiced to find that report 
false. Her health was good, notwithstanding her 
long confinement, and she was highly gratified to 
have this interview with her brothers, who promised 
to persuade their father to redeem her, and to be 
forever afterwards on friendly terms with the Eng- 
lish. 

As nothing was heard from Powhatan, Mr. John 
Rolfe and Mr. Sparks were sent to him to opeii 
negotiations. They met with a courteous reception 
from the Indians ; but the haughty king would not 
admit them into his presence. The best they could 



POCAHONTAS IN LOVE. 269 

do was to hold communication with his brother, 
Opechancanough, who promised to do all in his 
power to bring about friendly relations with Pow- 
hatan. 

It being now April, the time for them to prepare 
their ground for the reception of corn, and Pow- 
hatan obstinately refusing to come to terms, they 
returned to Jamestown, taking with them the cap- 
tive Indian princess. 

The history of Pocahontas is not exclusively of a 
tragic character. It has a dash of the romantic. 
She w^as as susceptible of the tender passion as 
ladies who are blessed with a lighter complexion 
and a more refined education. The unpleasantness 
of her imprisonment was greatly alleviated by the 
engagement of her affections. The person for 
whom she cherished this tender interest was Mr. 
John Rolfe, who is described by the record of those 
times as an " honest gentleman and of good be- 
havior." The attachment was mutual, and had 
existed a considerable length of time before it was 
publicly known. Being desirous of making her 
his wife, and yet not knowing how it would be 
received by the authorities, nor what course to pur- 
sue in the emergency, (she being an Indian, a 
princess, and a captive,) Rolfe addressed a letter 
to Sir Thomas Dale, in which he acquainted him 
with the facts of the case, and solicited his advice. 
23* 



270 



POCAHONTAS MARRIED. 



Pocahontas at the same time communicated the 
story of her love to her brother, who conveyed the 
information to Powhatan. 

Sir Thomas Dale and Powhatan approved the 




Marriage of Pocahontas. 



match, regarding it, probably, as favorable to the 
promotion of peace between the two nations. In 



SHE IS INSTRUCTED. 271 

the course of ten days, Powhatan sent Opachisco, 
an old uncle of Pocahontas, and two of her broth- 
ers, as his representatives, to officiate in his behalf 
at the wedding. All things being ready, the im- 
portant ceremony of marriage was solemnized in the 
beginning of April, 1613, and Mr. John Rolfe became 
the son-in-law of the renowned Emperor Powhatan. 

The influence of this marriage was eminently 
serviceable in bringing about friendly relations and 
favorable commercial arrangements between the 
English and the Indians under Powhatan. 

In addition to this, it was also the means of 
securing a treaty of amity with the powerful tribe 
of Chickahominies, who consented to become the 
subjects of the King of England, to assist the col- 
onists in time of war, and also to pay them a yearly 
tribute of grain. The tomahawk and scalping knife 
were buried at the hymeneal altar. 

After this important marriage, special pains were 
taken to instruct the young bride in the principles 
of the Christian religion. Being of a quick under- 
standing, of good natural abilities, and at the same 
time ardently desiring knowledge, she made rapid 
progress. Being convinced of the sinfulness of 
idolatry, she openly abandoned the religion of her 
people, made a profession of Christianity, and was 
christened by the name of Rebecca. It is said that 
her original name was Matoaks; but under the 



272 POCAHONTAS IS CONVERTED. 

influence of some superstitious notion, this was 
concealed from the Enghsh by the Indians, who 
changed her name to Pocahontas, a word which, 
the Moravian missionary Heckewelder says, means 
a run between two hills. Stith says, " She was the 
first Christian Indian in these parts, and perhaps 
the sincerest and most worthy that has ever been 
since. And now she has no manner of desire to 
return to her father ; neither could she well endure 
the brutish manners or society of her own nation. 
Her affection to her husband was extremely con- 
stant and true ; and he, on the other hand, under- 
went great torment and pain out of his violent 
passion and tender solicitude for her." 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Pocahontas visits England. — Smith's Letter to the Queen. — He 
meets Pocahontas. — Her Coohiess and Rebukes. — Smith's 
Apolog}'. — Reply of Pocahontas. — Smith introduces her to 
the Nobility. — Pocahontas visits the King- and Queen. — Her 
graceful Deportment. — She goes to various Places of Amuse- 
ment. — Her Husband appointed Secretary. — Pocahontas 
dies. — Sorrow and Joy. — She leaves one Child. — Steukley's 
Treachery. — Her Child taken to his Uncle's. — The Descend- 
ants of Pocahontas. — John Randolph. — Story of Tomocomo. 

About three years after her marriage, Mrs. 
Pocahontas Rolfe, under the care of Sir Thomas 
Dale, visited England. She was accompanied by 
her husband and several young Indians of both 
sexes. They arrived safely at Plymouth on the 
12th of .Tune, 1616. 

Captain John Smith, whom Pocahontas had not 
seen since his return to England, prior to her cap- 
tivity, was then engaged in preparation for a voyage 
to New England. He deeply regretted that the 
multiplicity of his engagements present<!?H an insur- 
mountable barrier to his making a trip to Plymouth 
to see her. He was sensible of his oblij^ations to 
her for her past invaluable services, and was dis- 
posed to extend to her every attention and courtesy 
in his power ; and, therefore, as he could not visit 
her, he wrote a letter in her behalf to the queen, in 



274 sjviith's letter to the queen. 

which he specified the important services which she 
had rendered to him and the colony in Virginia ; 
the great perils she incurred on their account ; her 
imprisonment ; and, finally, her marriage to an 
Englishman, and her conversion to Christianity. 
He then entreats the queen to show her marks of 
royal favor, saying, " If she should not be well 
received, seeing this kingdom may rightly have a 
kingdom by her means, her present love to us 
and Christianity might turn to such scorn and fury 
as to divert all this good to the worst of evil, where 
finding so great a queen should do her some honor, 
more than she can imagine, for being so kind to 
your servants and subjects, would so ravish her 
with content, as to endear her dearest blood to 
effect that your majesty's and all the king's honest 
subjects most earnestly desire. And so I humbly 
kiss your gracious hands." 

This letter does honor to the heart of Smith. It 
exhibits an earnest desire that his friend Pocahontas 
might meet with an honorable reception at court, 
and a willi^ disposition to do all in his power to 
accomplish that important end. It is illustrative, 
also, of his great sagacity in its predictions of what 
would be the happy influence, in Virginia, of the 
treatment which she should receive in England. 

Unexpectedly, however, Pocahontas came to 
London before Captain Smith left. So great was 



POCAHONTAS OFFENDED. 275 

the contrast between the pure and healthful air of 
Virginia and the dingy, smoky atmosphere of the 
great English metropolis, that the Indian princess 
could not remain there with any comfort. She was 
therefore taken to Brentford. When Smith knew 
of her arrival, he, with several friends, went there 
to see her. After giving him a very cool recep- 
tion, she passionately turned from him, and did not 
speak again for two or three hours. She was evi- 
dently offended. Smith now felt mortified that he 
had said she could speak English. But after this 
long and significant silence, she began to speak. 
She reminded Smith of the many favors she had 
done him in Virginia, and of the strong professions 
of friendship which had been exchanged between 
him and her father. " You promised my father," 
said she, " that what was yours should be his, and 
that you and he would be all one. When you 
were a stranger in our country, you called Pow- 
hatan father, and I for the same reason will now 
call you father." 

Although Smith cherished a sincere interest in 
her welfare, and was willing, as we have seen from 
his letter to the queen, to use his influence to pro- 
mote her happiness, yet such was the jealousy of 
the court, and such his own views of the prerog- 
atives of royalty, that he did not dare to allow her 
the liberty of calling him father. She was an 



276 INTERVIEW WITH SMITH. 

emperor's daughter — a princess. He feared, there- 
fore, that to allow himself to be called her father 
would be interpreted as an ambitious desire to 
aspire above the appropriate condition of a private 
citizen, and would bring down upon him the dis- 
pleasure of his sovereign. It seems, however, that 
Pocahontas did not perceive the force of his objec- 
tions ; for when, for these reasons, he desired her 
not to address him by this familiar title, she admin- 
istered to him, in a calm voice, and with a stern, 
fixed countenance, a cutting rebuke. " You were 
not afraid," said the indignant lady, " to come into 
my father's country, and strike a fear into every 
body but myself; and are you here afraid to let me 
call you father ? I tell you then," continued she 
with increasing confidence, " I will call you father, 
and you shall call me child ; and so I will forever 
be of your kindred and country. They always told 
us you were dead ; and I knew no otherwise till 1 
came to Plymouth. But Powhatan commanded 
Tomocomo to seek you out and know the truth, 
because your countrymen are much given to 
lying." 

How Captain Smith received this reproof we are 
not informed. Nor why he had not kept up some 
kind of correspondence with Pocahontas, or her 
father, we know not. It would not have been diifi- 
cult for him to have occasionally sent her some 



POCAHONTAS AT COURT. 27T 

trifling present as a testimony of his remembrance 
of the many favors which she had conferred upon 
him. Of one thing we may be certain, and that is, 
that it did not arise from ingratitude. However his 
conduct may have had the appearance of neglect, 
now that she had come to his country, he made up 
for it in his constant attentions to her wants. Her 
acquaintance was eagerly sought by the nobility and 
other influential classes. 

As the relations between her and Smith were 
generally known, he was applied to daily by cour- 
tiers and others for introductions to her. He gladly 
availed himself of these opportunities to make her 
acquainted with wealthy and honorable families, 
who cheerfully extended to her those elegant hos- 
pitalities and attentions which greatly conduced to 
her enjoyment. His letter in her behalf to the 
queen was not without its influence ; for she re- 
ceived an invitation to mingle in the festivities of 
the court, where she was most graciously received 
by King James I. and his royal consort, Queen Ann. 
Those who had expected to see a wild, rude, un- 
couth, female savage, ignorant of or regardless of 
the proprieties of cultivated society, striding awk- 
wardly through the magnificent saloons, and gaping 
with unconcealed wonder at the brilliant decorations 
of royalty, were greatly but pleasantly disappointed. 
The whole court were surprised and delighted with 
24 



^78 DEATH OF POCAHONTAS. 

the amiableness of her disposition, and the elegant 
and easy gracefulness of her manners. It was gen- 
erally admitted, that there were many English ladies 
whose personal appearance and gentility of deport- 
ment were not equal to hers. 

Under the protection of Lady Delaware and 
other persons of distinction, she was taken to 
masks, balls, theatres, and various other places of 
fashionable amusement, to which the upper classes 
were accustomed to resort, with which she was 
wonderfully delighted. She seems to have been a 
favorite among the nobility, who vied with each 
other in their efforts to promote her enjoyment. 
But alas ! these pleasures were destined to be of 
short duration. As the time approached for her to 
return to America with her husband, who had 
received the appointment of secretary and recorder 
general of Virginia, she was taken sick, and died 
at Gravesend in the twenty-second year of her age. 
Her unexpected decease was witnessed with mingled 
sorrow and joy, — sorrow that one whose history 
had been so eventful, whose character was so much 
admired, and who, on her return, might, by her 
abilities and position in the colony, have been 
eminently useful, had met with such an early doom ; 
and joy, that in her last illness, she was sustained 
by the consolations of religion, and died, as she 



DESCENDANTS OF POCAHONTAS. 279 

had lived since her conversion, a sincere and devout 
Christian. 

She left one child, a son, who was named Thom- 
as Rolfe. He was committed to the care of Sir 
Lewis Steukley, who manifested an earnest desire 
to have charge of his education ; but being de- 
tected in " a notable piece of treachery towards 
him," the child was taken from him. Steuklej 
was an unprincipled character, and being convicted 
of certain corrupt practices, he obtained a short 
lease of life at the expense of his whole fortune, 
and finally died, unwept and unhonored, in a state 
of degraded indigence. 

Young Rolfe was taken to London, and placed 
under the charge of his uncle, Mr. Henry Rolfe. 
He subsequently came to this country, where he 
acquired a fortune, and attained to considerable 
distinction. He had one daughter, who became the 
wife of Colonel Robert Bollinij. . The issue of this 
marriage was one son, Major John Boiling, who 
became the father of one son and several daughters, 
the latter of whom married Colonel Richard Ran^ 
dolph, Colonel John Fleming, Dr. William Gay, 
Mr. Thomas Eldridge, and Mr. James Murray ; 
" so that this remnant of the imperial family of 
Virginia, which long ran in a single person, is now 
increased and branched out into a very numerous 
progeny." The blood of the famous Pocahontas 



280 JOHN RANDOLPH. 

now circulates in the veins of some of the most 
wealthy and aristocratic families of the Old Do- 
minion ; and it is well known to have been the 
boast of the late eccentric John Randolph, that 
this honorable distinction belonged to him, he being 
one of her lineal descendants. 

Tomocomo, the Indian to whom Pocahontas 
referred in her conversation with Captain Smith, 
was her brother-in-law, he having married one 
of her sisters. Being a person of more than 
ordinary ability, he sustained to Powhatan the im- 
portant relations of chief counsellor and priest. 
He was sent over to England with Pocahontas, 
with instructions not only to make inquiries con- 
cerning Captain Smith, but also to count and 
bring home to Powhatan the number of the peo- 
ple there. When he arrived at Plymouth, in 
England, he obtained a long stick, in order that 
he might keep ex^ct tally of the number of people 
whom he should see. He began his herculean 
task, not knowing the amount of labor which 
was before him. For every person he saw, he 
made a notch in his stick ; but after a while, 
when his stick was converted into a kind of coarse 
file or saw by the notches cut in it, he was 
convinced of the futility of his labor, and gave 
it up in despair. After his return to America, 
when Powhatan required a report of his labors, 



TOMOCOMO. 281 

and asked especially for the number of the people 
of England, Tomocomo, in a truly poetic spirit, 
told him to " count the stars in the sky, the 
leaves on the trees, and the sand upon the sea- 
shore, for such is the multitude of the English." 
24* 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

Young Ladies imported. — Interesting' Scene. — Long Courtships 
prevented. — Buying Wives. — Their Value in Tobacco. — Wise 
Arrangement. — Its desirable Effects. — Slaves introduced. — 
Increase of Plantations. — Deceptive Peace. — A dark Plot 
forming. — An extensive Conspiracy. — A dreadful Massacre. — 
Barbarous Mutilations. — Jamestown saved. — Chanco's Dis- 
closure. — Effects of the Massacre. 

In 1619, a novel measure Avas adopted, which had 
an important bearing upon the welfare of the col- 
ony. The men who were there had embarked in 
the enterprise for the acquisition of wealth. Instead 
of regarding Virginia as their permanent home, they 
looked upon it only as a field for profitable adven- 
ture ; and their intention was to remain there suffi- 
ciently long for the acquisition of a fortune, and then 
return to England to enjoy it. So long as these 
views and- intentions prevailed, the growth of the 
colony would be impeded. The settlers must be 
taught to regard that as their home, and to make 
their arrangements accordingly, before any hope of 
permanent thrift and advancement could be reason- 
ably cherished. To accomplish this desirable object, 
it was necessary that a strong female influence should 
be thrown into the colony. For this purpose the 
treasurer, Sir Edwin Sandys, provided a passage 



SEARCHING FOR WIVES. 283 

from England for ninety young women of poor 
parentage, but agreeable in their appearance and of 
good character, to furnish wives for the colonists. 
This was a commodity for which there was a ready 
demand. It was not long before these enterprising 
females found themselves provided with a husband 
and a home. 

This operated so favorably that next year another 
company of sixty was sent over. They are de- 
scribed as maids of virtuous education, young, hand- 
some, and well recommended. 

The reader may be curious to know how these 
valuable articles were disposed of, and what it cost 
in those early times to obtain a helpmeet. 

As the young ladies were sent over at the expense 
of the colony, they were sold to the planters, so that 
their importation might entail no actual loss to the 
general treasury, but rather produce a profit. 

It is left for the reader to imagine the scene 
which was presented, when it was known that a 
company of young ladies had crossed the ocean, and 
had come to the colony on purpose to become the 
wives of those who might invite them to sustain that 
relation. With what interest was the vessel visited 
by the young men of the settlement, and how eagerly 
did they cast their eyes among the groups of fair 
passengers to find one whom they thought they could 
love, and of whom to make a companion for life ! 



284 SHORT COURTSHIPS. 

With what solicitude, too, did the young ladies 
regard the close inspection, and listen to the thought- 
less, mirthful, and sometimes indelicate remarks of 
these gallants, with one of whom, but which one 
they knew not, they would soon be identified in in- 
terest, if not in affection, for better or for worse, 
during life ! Courtships were necessarily short. 
Engagements had to be negotiated rapidly, for, as 
the supply was not equal to the demand, if any gen- 
tleman hesitated in coming to a decision with refer- 
ence to any young lady, he was in danger of being 
superseded by some of his companions more prompt 
than himself. 

Of the first lot of ninety, a wife was sold for one 
hundred pounds of tobacco ! But in a short time 
their value so highly increased that they would bring 
a hundred and fifty pounds of tobacco. If any man, 
not having on hand the requisite amount of weed, 
obtained a wife on credit, that debt was regarded as 
one of especial honor, and was to be cancelled be- 
fore others. As an additional motive to marriage, 
married men were allowed to have more influence 
in the colony than others, by being generally ele- 
vated to official stations. All, therefore, who were 
ambitious of distinction found it necessary to get a 
wife. Single blessedness was not the road to a 
single honor. 

The arrangement was wise, and worked well ; for 



INTRODUCTION OF SLAVERY. 285 

domestic ties, and associations of home, wife, and 
mother were formed. The men felt they had some- 
thing to Uve and labor for besides themselves. They 
became attached to the soil, and interested more 
deeply than ever in the general welfare of the col- 
ony. Social feelings and offices of good neighbor- 
hood were cultivated, by which general happiness 
was promoted. From this time the number of emi- 
grants so rapidly increased, that within three years 
thirty-five hundred people came into Virginia. 

In 1620, another lot of emigrants was brought 
into Virginia, of a different character and for another 
purpose, who were destined to exert a great but 
deleterious influence upon the whole country. These 
were a gang of negro slaves, who had been intro- 
duced into the colony by a Dutch man-of-war. This 
may be regarded as the commencement of African 
slavery in the United States, which, from twenty 
unfortunate individuals, has, by various means, so 
widely extended, that at the present time there are 
more slaves in the country than equal the whole 
population of the United States at the close of the 
American revolution. 

After emigrants began to come into the colony in 
considerable numbers, new settlements were formed. 
As tobacco had become an important article of com- 
merce, the people were decided in their choice of a 
place for settlement by the adaptedness of the soil 



236 SETTLExMENTS MULTIPLIED. 

to raise that nauseous, yet profitable weed. Wherever 
the land appeared rich and attractive, there a young 
colony would be commenced. As treaties of peace 
had been concluded with different tribes of Indians, 
and they were so fully aware of the superiority of 
English fire-arms over their own weapons of wood 
and twine as to be convinced that war was bad pol- 
icy for themselves, the English were seldom troubled 
by them. Hence the emigrants were not unwilling 
to form new settlements at a considerable distance 
from Jamestown. By 1622, there were about eighty 
separate plantations, extending over a space of coun- 
try of a hundred and forty miles on both sides of 
James River, aud also on the Potomac. So little 
trouble had existed between the Indians and the 
whites for a considerable period, so kind and gentle 
had the natives appeared, that all fear of danger, 
and all suspicion of treachery, were removed from 
the minds of the colonists. The Indians were per- 
mitted to visit the settlements and mingle with the 
people with the greatest freedom. The law which 
had been passed against allowing them to use fire- 
arms was a dead letter, and they were not only per- 
mitted their use, but were employed by the settlers 
as hunters and fowlers, to scour the woods and fields 
for deer and wild fowl, by which means they became 
expert in the use of the musket. As one object, 
which was frequently enjoined upon the colonists in 



FATAL FEARLESSNESS. 287 

the instructions of the council, was the conversion of 
the Indians to Christianity, they uniformly received 
them in the most cordial manner, invited them to 
their tables, and furnished them with lodging, that 
by means of kind hospitality they might secure their 
confidence and respect, and in this manner pre- 
pare them for the favorable reception of religious 
instruction. 

All of this kindness, unsuspiciousness, and famil- 
iarity was eminently favorable for the accomplish- 
ment of a deep-laid Indian plot, for the total over- 
throw of the Eno;lish settlements. 

After the death of Powhatan, which occurred in 
1618, his brother Opechancanough became his suc- 
cessor. The new chief, or emperor, was artful, 
treacherous, revengeful, and merciless. He disliked 
the whites, had often made them trouble, was jealous 
at their increase, and burned for an opportunity to 
cut them all off, and rid the land of their hated pres- 
ence. Knowing that nothing could be gained by 
an open war with them, he resorted to another ex- 
pedient. He, with the greatest caution and subtlety, 
arranged an infernal plot to butcher them all in 
cold blood. On the same day and the same hour 
the horrid war whoop was to sound along the whole 
line of the settlements on James River, and the In- 
dians, previously stationed and prepared with the 
weapons of the unsuspecting whites, were to dart 



288 A GREAT CONSPIRACY. 

upon them at a moment's warning, and cut them 
down, without regard to age, sex, condition, or 
character. It was a magnificent scheme of treachery, 
the conception of a mind capable of devising plans 
of revengeful cruelty upon an extended scale. 

Of course great pains were taken to conceal the 
plot from the English. A treaty of peace with them 
was confirmed. A messenger, who was sent to 
Opechancanough, was treated by him with unusual 
courtesy and kindness, and was assured by the de- 
ceitful chief that he "held the treaty of peace so 
firm that it was easier for the sky to fall than for 
him to violate it." Yea, such was the dissimulation 
of the others, that two days before the fatal catas- 
trophe, they safely guided the English through the 
forests, and sent to the plantation one who had been 
living among them in order to acquire their lan- 
guage. On the evening preceding, and even on the 
morning of the dreadful day, they visited the colo- 
nies, as at other times, unarmed, bringing deer, tur- 
keys, fish, fruits, and other articles for sale, and in 
some places they even took breakfast with those 
whom in a few hours they intended deliberately to 
murder. 

Yet so carefully were the arrangements of this 
plot carried out, that, whilst the English were kept 
in profound ignorance, the Indians were all ac- 
quainted with it, and, though their dwellings were 



A DARK CLOUD GATHERING. 289 

in many instances widely scattered from each other, 
yet they all had warning one from another ; they 
were informed of the precise day and hour ; they 
each had their particular plantatign designated on 
which they were to fall, and their posts and parts 
assigned in the bloody tragedy. There is some- 
thing oppressively painful in the contemplation of 
this dark cloud, filled with the elements of death, 
slowly gathering over their devoted heads, and ap- 
proaching nearer and nearer upon its dreadful 
errand, whilst the doomed victims are attending 
to their usual employments or sports, in entire 
unconsciousness of danger, to be aroused to a re- 
alization of their peril only when the descending 
thunderbolt shall convince them it is too late to 
escape. 

At noon, on the 22d of March, 1622, the ap- 
pointed day and hour, the cloud burst. The Indians, 
who were all at their stations, and who, from their 
familiarity with the whites, knew where all their 
guns and swords were kept, secretly seized a weapon, 
and simultaneously rose upon the colonists, and com- 
menced an indiscriminate slaughter. So sudden 
was the blow, that many never knew with what 
weapon, nor by whose hand, they were struck. 
Blood flowed freely in every direction. The air 
resounded with the shrieks of the wounded, the 
dying, and of horrified spectators, who knew that 
25 



290 A DREADFUL MASSACRE. 

their turn would come next, and that escape was 
impossible. The innocence of infancy, the helpless- 
ness of womanhood, and the hoary hairs of age fur- 
nished no proteetion. Wisdom, piety, and benevo- 
lence presented no barrier. All who could be 
reached were slain, and generally with their own 
weapons. Some of the perfidious executioners 
entered the houses professedly to trade, others drew 
their victims abroad by one pretence and another, 
while the rest scattered themselves amongst the men 
as they were engaged in the fields or shops, in or- 
der that their work of blood might be the more 
certain and rapid. In one short hour three hun- 
dred and forty-seven persons were thus cruelly mur- 
dered by these treacherous savages ! It was a day 
of gloominess and thick darkness for the colony. 
Husbands and wives, parents and children, masters 
and servants, fell horribly butchered, and mingled 
their blood together. Not satisfied with their death, 
the barbarians mangled their lifeless bodies, tore 
them to pieces as if they had been so many ravenous 
beasts, and carried their bleeding parts away as evi- 
dence of their merciless triumph, and as fitting- 
material on which to wreak their yet unsatiated 
vengeance. 

Still the massacre was not universal. Though 
the plot was well matured and skilfully arranged, 
yet it failed of accomplishing the entire destruction of 



THE PLOT DISCLOSED. 291 

the English, or of even producing any bloodshed at 
Jamestown, the oldest and largest settlement in Vir- 
ginia, and which was particularly obnoxious to the 
Indians on that account. The reason of this signal 
failure was as follows : Mr. Richard Pace had a 
converted Indian, named Chanco, in his employ, 
who lived in his family, and whom he treated with 
all the kindness of a father. The evening preceding 
the dreadful day of slaughter, the brother of this 
Indian, who was also in the employ of an English- 
man by the name of Perry, visited Chanco, and slept 
with him. In the darkness and stillness of night, 
he revealed to him the whole matter, and told him 
that his king, Opechancanough, commanded him 
(Chanco) to kill his master the next day at noon, 
and to furnish him with an additional motive, he 
urged him to follow his example, " for," said he, 
" I intend to kill my master Perry." Chanco, it 
seems, did not hesitate as to the course to be pur- 
sued. Instead of resolving to kill his master, he 
was determined to save him, if possible. Therefore, 
so soon as his brother left him, he arose and dis- 
closed to Mr. Pace the whole plot. Pace, who re- 
sided at some distance from Jamestown, made it 
known to his neighbors, who immediately placed 
their houses in a state of defence. He then took a 
boat, and rowed as rapidly as possible to Jamestown, 
giving intelligence to all the villages and hamlets on 



292 CHANCO A DELIVERER. 

his route. He revealed the plot to the governor, 
who immediately took measures to avert the impend- 
ing blow. All the old muskets, swords, and other 
weapons which could be found were fixed for imme- 
diate use. Messengers were despatched to neigh- 
boring plantations, putting them on their guard, and 
in this way the blow was effectually warded off 
from these places ; for wherever the Indians discov- 
ered the English to be on their guard, they refrained 
from making any attack. So fearful were they of 
gunpowder, that a single musket pointed at them 
would make a score of them run. And in one in- 
stance, after a band of them had made an attack 
upon a place, the random firing of a gun set all to 
running like so many frightened sheep. So that, 
although by this dreadful slaughter many were slain, 
a much larger number escaped. As a scheme for 
the entire destruction of the English, it proved a 
splendid failure. Chanco's disclosure saved the 
lives of many hundreds, prevented the destruction 
of Jamestown, and thwarted the nefarious object of 
his chief. Chanco saved the colony. Let his name 
ever be held in grateful remembrance. The total 
number of the emigrants who had come to Virginia 
was over four thousand. A year after the massacre, 
two thousand five hundred men remained. 

The immediate effects of this ruthless demonstra- 
tion were disastrous to the colonists. Public works 



EFFECTS OF THE MASSACRE. 293 

were neglected, agriculture in a great measure 
ceased, villages were broken up, private plantations 
abandoned^ the people were terrified, and the spirit 
of enterprise palsied. It was a long time before 
the English recovered from this sudden and violent 
check. 

25* 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Effects of the Massacre. — A difficult Question. — Smith's Pro- 
posal.— Indian War. — Stringent Treatment. — A second Mas- 
sacre. — Opechancanough a Prisoner. — He is murdered. — 
Border War. — The Indians conquered. — Dissolution of the 
London Company. — Baptism enjoined by Law. — Union of 
Church and State. — Quakers condemned. — How to judge the 
early Settlers. — Church-Wardens. — Laws concerning Mar- 
riage. — Concerning Shipmasters. — Whipping Posts and Duck- 
ing Stools. — The Sabbath. — Fast. — The two Colonies. — 
Closing Remark. 

When the painful intelligence of the horrid mas- 
sacre reached England, it was productive of wide- 
spread sorrow. A large number of those who were 
slain had relatives at home who were deeply afflicted 
by their death. The company, however, by whose 
control the colony was governed, instead of being 
discouraged by these untoward events, were stimu- 
lated to greater efforts, in order to secure the coim- 
try for which they had already sacrificed so much. 
Arrangements were immediately made to forward 
the survivors supplies. And even the king, from 
the impulse of a somewhat equivocal generosity, 
was prompted to furnish them with some old, cast- 
off arms, which had been rusting for an indefinite 
period in the Tower of London. 

A vexing question, which elicited much discussion 



smith's offer. 205 

in the company, and on which opposite sides were 
taken, was. What course shall be pursued towards 
the Indians ? Some were in favor of bringing them 
into subjection to the British crown, while others were 
for a war of extermination. At this crisis Captain 
Smith, who, from long and close observation, was 
well acquainted with Indian character, proposed to 
the company that if they would furnish him with one 
hundred soldiers, thirty sailors, and one bark, he 
would agree to protect all the settlements from the 
James to the Potomac River. The company were 
too poor to accept of his offer, but they gave him 
permission to effect a similar arrangement with the 
colonists themselves, provided he would give the 
company one half the booty he should acquire. The 
idea of obtaining any thing valuable from these un- 
civilized Indians appeared to Smith preposterous. 
He informed the company that, with the exception 
of some little corn, he would not give twenty pounds 
for all the booty that could be obtained from the 
savages for twenty years. 

When the colonists recovered from the panic 
which this sudden outburst of Indian fury had pro- 
duced, they made arrangements to act upon the 
offensive, and to " carry the war into the enemy's 
camp." In July of that same year, to convince the 
Indians that they were neither subdued nor afraid 
of them, three hundred colonists went forth to forage 



298 WAR PROSECUTED. 

corn, and to punish all the natives whom they 
might meet. Indian duplicity, however, was too 
much for them, and they allowed themselves to be 
deceived by one pretence and another, until the wily 
savages had successfully removed their grain beyond 
reach. They managed, however, to burn their vil- 
lages and destroy other property, which it was be- 
lieved would subject the enemy to much suffering 
during the approaching winter. 

At the following meeting of the General Assem- 
bly, a law was passed requiring the inhabitants of 
every corporation to attack their neighboring sav- 
ages, as they had done the year preceding. In 1630, 
it was also enacted, that " the war begun upon the 
Indians be effectually followed, and that no peace 
be concluded with them ; and that all expeditions 
undertaken against them be prosecuted with dili- 
gence. This unsettled state of harassing warfare 
continued with undiminished fury until 1632, when 
a treaty of peace was concluded under the adminis- 
tration of Governor Harvey. In the negotiation of 
this treaty, the Indians did not receive the kindness 
which had usually been extended to them. It was 
deemed expedient to deal more stringently with 
them. Accordingly their villages, their cleared 
lands, and their pleasant positions, which had been 
actually taken possession of by the English, were 
retained by them after the war, and, consequently, 



ANOTHER MASSACRE. 297 

the original owners were obliged to remove to new 
localities. 

In 1644, on the 18th of April, another conspiracy 
broke out under the influence of Opechancanough, 
who was now far advanced in years and nearly blind. 
It failed, however, of its object. Three hundred of 
the settlers were destroyed, but the English were 
not overthrown, nor driven from the country. Ope- 
chancanough was taken prisoner and carried to 
Jamestown. He here exhibited the same haughti- 
ness for which he had always been distinguished ; 
preserving a disdainful silence, and taking no inter- 
est in events which passed around him. Whilst here 
he was basely shot in the back by a sentinel, in re- 
venge for certain injuries he had received from him 
on some former occasion. As the old chief found the 
current of life was fast passing away, the only thing 
which seemed to occasion him regret was, that in 
his dying moments he was exposed to the inquisitive 
gaze of his curious and hated enemies. 

For nearly two years a border warfare between 
the whites and the Indians was kept up. The lat- 
ter gradually yielded to the superiority of the former, 
until finally so effective were English weapons that 
ten men were sufficient to protect any place from the 
attacks of the savages. In the month of October, 
1646, a treaty of peace was established between the 
English and Opechancanough's successor, whose 



298 LONDON COMPANY DISSOLVED. 

name was Necotowance. Amongst the terms of this 
treaty were, on the part of the Indians, submission 
to English authority and the cession of their lands. 
The natives were now obliged to move farther into 
the interior, by which the colonists were relieved, in 
a great degree, of their unwelcome presence. 

Previous to this, in 1624, the London Company, 
under whose auspices the colonies in Virginia had 
been commenced, was, by the authority of the king, 
dissolved. Pecuniarily it had not proved a profita- 
ble speculation. Still it had accomplished a noble 
object. It had sealed the perpetuity of the colonies 
in Virginia, and had ceded to them a liberal form of 
government. It had started a stream, which, though 
at first it was a mere rill, was destined to increase, 
until, like the waters of Ezekiel, it would rise first 
to the ankles, then to the knees, then to the loins, 
and afterwards become a mighty river, on the banks 
of which were to grow trees bearing life-giving fruit 
every month, and the leaves of which were to be 
for the healing of the nations. After this, the colo- 
nies in Virginia, under the general protection of the 
British government, were left to their own resources. 

Though we have now reached our assigned limits, 
yet before drawing this volume to a close, it will not 
be amiss to call attention to a few of the laws which 
at different times were passed for the observance of 
the colonists. 



CHURCH AND STATE. 299 

In 1662 it was enacted that every person who re- 
fuses to have his child baptized by a lawful minister 
shall be amerced two thousand pounds of tobacco, 
half of which was to go to the informer, and half 
to the parish. 

" The whole liturgy of the church of England 
shall be thoroughly read at church or chapel every 
Sunday ; and the canons for divine service and 
sacraments duly observed." 

In these enactments was developed the same union 
of church and state which operated so unfortunately 
in the colonies of Plymouth and of Massachusetts, 
and which had been the means of oblio^ino' so 
many to leave their native land that they might find 
in the wilderness of a new world freedom to worship 
God. The union of church and state in England 
had resulted in such severe persecutions that those 
who refused to conform to the ritual of the estab- 
lished church could enjoy there no quiet. They 
must sacrifice their own conscientious convictions, 
or else submit to the arbitrary penalty of the law. 

Yet in the new world this same unwise principle, 
to call it by no stronger name, was introduced, and 
in Virginia every person who refused to have his 
child baptized was condemned to pay a heavy fine. 
Massachusetts has been severely condemned for her 
strictness in executing a similar principle — for at- 
tempting to enforce religious opinions and practices 



300 LAWS AGAINST QUAKERS. 

by means of the civil power. It is evident, however, 
that she was not alone. She is not entitled to the 
solitary glory or shame of advancing wliat she deemed 
the gospel by the severe penalties of the law. Even 
her treatment of the Quakers, which, it is admitted, 
reflects no honor upon her wisdom or humanity, 
finds almost a parallel in the following enactment 
in Virginia : — 

" If any Quakers, or other separatists whatsoever, 
in this colony assemble themselves together to the 
number of five or more, of the age of sixteen years 
or upwards, under the pretence of joining in a re- 
ligious worship not authorized in England or this 
country, the parties so oftending, being thereof law- 
fully convicted by verdict, confessions, or notorious 
evidence of the fact, shall, for the first offence, for- 
feit and pay two hundred pounds of tobacco ; — for 
the second offence, five hundred pounds of tobacco, 
to be levied by warrant from any justice of the 
peace upon the goods of the party convicted ; but 
if he be unable, then upon the goods of any other 
of the separatists or Quakers then present ; — and 
for the third offence, the ofi'ender, being convicted as 
aforesaid, shall be banislied the colony of Virginia. 

" Every master of a ship or vessel that shall bring- 
in any Quakers to reside here, after the first of July 
next, shall be fined five thousand pounds of tobacco, 
to be levied by distress ajid sale of his goods, and 



INJUSTICE. 301 

enjoined to cany him, her, or them, out of the 
country again. 

" Any person inhabiting this country and enter- 
taining any Quaker in or near his house to preach, 
or teach, shall, for ev^ery time of such entertainment, 
be fined five thousand pounds of tobacco." 

If any attempt were to be made to enact laws 
like these at the present day, in any of the states 
of this Union, it would be met by the most violent 
opposition, and prevented ; but it must be remem- 
bered that the great idea of religious liberty was not 
then fully understood. It had not been adopted as 
a principle of government by any nation upon earth. 
These arbitrary laws were in harmony with those of 
the governments of Europe, and, consequently, they 
were not so far behind the times as they would be now. 

In forming an opinion of the early settlers of this 
country, we must give due weight to the influences 
and associations amidst which they had been trained. 
It would be doing them great injustice to judge of 
them as though they had been brought up under free 
institutions, like those which we now enjoy, but had 
basely^resisted their liberalizing tendencies. They 
scarcely saw the dawn of that bright day of re- 
ligious liberty, in whose enlightening and vivifying 
beams we are permitted to rejoice. Yet it is diffi- 
cult to suppress the expression of surprise that, after 
all their painful experience of the effects of spiritual 
26 



302 MARRIAGE AND OTHER LAWS. 

tyranny, they should themselves have adopted it as 
a prominent element of government, in the treatment 
of those whose religious convictions differed from 
their own. 

Other laws of a somewhat peculiar character were 
passed, amongst which were the following : — 

" Church-wardens shall present at the county 
court twice every year, in December and April, such 
misdemeanors of swearing, drunkenness, fornication, 
&c., as by their own knowledge, or common fame, 
have been committed during their being church- 
wardens. 

" To steal, or unlawfully to kill, any hog that is 
not his own, upon sufficient proof, the offender shall 
pay to the owner one thousand pounds of tobacco, 
and as much to the informer ; and in case of ina- 
bility, shall serve two years, one to the owner and 
one to the informer. 

" No marriage shall be reputed valid in law 
but such as is made by the minister, according to 
the laws of England. And no minister shall marry 
any person without a license from the governor or 
his deputy, or thrice publication of banns, according 
to the rubric in the Common Prayer Book. The 
minister that doth marry contrary to this act shall 
be fined ten thousand pounds of tobacco. 

" No master of any ship, &c., shall transport any 
person out of this colony without a pass, under the 



PILLORIES AND DUCKING STOOLS. 303 

secretary's hand, upon the penalty of paying all 
such debts as any such person shall owe at his de- 
parture, and one thousand pounds of tobacco to the 
secretary. 

" The court in every county shall cause to be set 
up near the court house a pillory, a pair of stocks, a 
whipping post, and a ducking stool, in such place as 
they shall think convenient ; which not being set 
up within six months after the date of this act, the 
said court shall be fined five thousand pounds of 
tobacco. 

" In actions of slander, occasioned by a man's 
wife, after judgment passed for damages, the woman 
shall be punished by ducking, and if the slander be 
such as the damages shall be adjudged at above five 
hundred pounds of tobacco, then the woman shall 
have ducking for every five hundred pounds of to- 
bacco adjudged against her husband, if he refuse to 
pay the tobacco. 

" Enacted that the Lord's day be kept holy, 
and no journeys be made on that day, unless 
upon necessity. And all persons inhabiting in 
this country, having no lawful excuse, shall every 
Sunday resort to the parish church or chapel, and 
tiiere abide orderly during the common prayer, 
preaching, and divine service, upon the penalty of 
being fined fifty pounds of tobacco by the county 
court. 



304 STATUTES REGARDING ATTORNEYS. 

" This act shall not extend to Quakers or other 
recusants who totally absent themselves, but they 
shall be liable to the penalty imposed by the 
statute, &c. 

" All ministers officiating in any public cure, 
and six of their family, shall be exempted from 
public taxes. 

" 1668. The 27th of August, appointed for a 
day of humiliation, fasting, and prayer, to implore 
God's mercy ; if any person be found upon that day 
gaming, drinking, or working, (works of necessity 
excepted,) upon presentment by the church-war- 
dens, and proof, he shall be fined one hundred 
pounds of tobacco, half to the informer and half 
to the poor of the parish." 

In 1680, it was enacted that no licensed attorney 
shall demand or receive, for bringing any cause to 
judgment in the General Court, more than five 
hundred pounds of tobacco and cask ; and in the 
county court, one hundred and fifty pounds of 
tobacco and cask, which fees are allowed him 
without any pre-agreement. 

" If any attorney shall refuse to plead any cause 
in the respective courts aforesaid, for the aforesaid 
fees, he shall forfeit as much as his fees should 
have been." 

The above laws suggest a variety of points upon 
which we might indulge in some profitable reflec- 



INTOLERANCE. 305 

tions. These, however, are left foi^ the reader. 
We can only remark, as a singular circumstance, 
that the laws which were enacted against sectaries, 
by the colonies at Jamestown and Plymouth, re- 
sulted, when carried into execution, in mutual ex- 
communication. The government at Jamestown 
did not tolerate Puritan dissent, and the Puritan 
government at Plymouth did not tolerate epis- 
copacy. 



Tlie reader who has perused the preceding chap- 
ters of this work cannot fail of being impressed 
with the great trials and sacrifices which those 
endured who first colonized this country, and here 
laid the foundations of a government whose flag is 
respected in all climes, and whose influence is felt 
throughout the world. To assert that they were 
imperfect, is to say that they were like ourselves. 
To deny that amongst them were men of expansive 
minds, noble hearts, of great courage, foresight, 
prudence, and perseverance, is to do them great 
injustice. As successive years rolled away, there 
arose in Virginia a class of men who, by their 
natural endowments and their acquired attainments, 
were well fitted to adorn any station in life, and 
whose genius, learning, courage, and patriotism 
rendered essential assistance in the great conflict 
26* 



306 VIRGINIANS. 

of the revolution, and in the formation of our 
republican institutions, under the operation of which 
we have attained to our present degree of gran- 
deur and power, as one of the leading nations 
upon earth. May their noble spirit ever stimulate 
their descendants to an imitation of their glorious 
example. 



CATALOGUE 

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RELIGIOUS PROGRESS; 

DISCOURSES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE 
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER. 

BY WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, D. D. 

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LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OP JOHN FOSTEK, 

AUTHOR OF "decision OF CHARACTER," " ISSAYS," 4c. 

BY J. E. RYLAND. 

With Notices of Mr. Foster as a Preacher and a Companion, by 

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Two Vols, in one. 714 pp., 12mo, cloth, $1,25 



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THE WORKS OF JOHN HARRIS, D D. 



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EOOT-PRINTS OF THE CREATOR; 

OR, THE ASTEROLEPIS OF STROMNESS. 
BY HUGH MILLER. 

[LLUSTRATIONS, FROM THIRD LOr 

WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR BY LOUIS AGASSIZ. 

12mo., cloth ; price, $1,25. 

"The 'Foot-prints' is not surpassed by any modern work.'" — JVortik 
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*' Mr. Miller's style is remarkably pleasing ; his mode of popularizing 
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fields for exploration yet present themselves." — Scientific American, 



THE OLD RED SANDSTONE; 

OR, NEW WALKS IN AN OLD FIELD. 
BY HUGH MILLER. 

FROM THE FOURTH LONDON EDITION ILLUSTRATED. 

12mo, cloth, price $1,25. 



A writer, in noticing Mr. Miller's " First Impressions of England and 
the People," in the JVew Englander, of May, 1850, commences by saying, 
" We presume it is not necessary formally to introduce Hugh xMiller to 
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" This admirable work evinces talent of the highest order, a deep and 
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THE POETHY OF SCIENCE; 

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BY ROBERT HUNT, 

AUTHOR OF "researches ON LIGHT," &C, 

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ELEMENTS OF MORAL SCIENCE. By Fkancis Wayland, 

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THE ELEMENTS OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. By Francis 
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BLAKE'S FIRST BOOR IN ASTRONONY. Designed for th« 
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BLAKE'S NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. Being Conversations on 
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VALUABLE SCHOOL BOOKS. 



YOUNG LADIES' CLASS BOOK. A Selection of Lessons for 
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" I have examined with much interest the Young Ladies' Class Book, by 
Mr. Bailey, and httve been very highly pleased with its contents. It is my 
intention to introduce it into my own school ; as I regard it as not only remark- 
ably well fitted to answer its particular object as a book of exercises in the art 
of elocution, but as calculated to have an influence upon the character and 
conduct, which will be in every respect favorable." — Jacob Abbott. 

" We were never so struck with the importance of having reading boolcs 
for female schools, adapted particularly to that express purpose, as while 
looking over the pages of this selection. The emment success of the com- 
piler in teaching this branch, to which we can personally bear testimony, is 
sufficient evidence of the character of the work." — Annals of Education. 

ROMAN ANTiaUITIES AND ANCIENT INIYTHOLOGY. By 
C. K. DiLLAWAY, A.M., late Principal in the Boston Latin 
School. With Engravings. Eighth Ed., improved. 12mo., 
naif mor. Price 67 cts. 

From E. Bailey, Principal of the Young Ladies' High School, Boston, 

" Having used Dillawai/s Roman Antiquities and Ancient Mythology in 
my school for several years, I commend it to teachers with great confidence, 
as a valuable text-book on those interesting branches of education. 

E. Bailet." 

" The want of a cheap volume, embracing a succinct account of ancient 
customs, together with a view of classical mythology, has long been felt. 
Mr. Dillaway's book seems to have been prepared with special reference to 
the wants of those who are just entering upon a classical career; andwe 
de^nt it but a simple act of justice to say, that it supplies the want, which, 
as T3 have before said, has long been felt. A peculiar merit of this compila- 
tion, and one which will gain it admission into our highly respectable /emate 
seminaries, is the total absence of all allusion, even the most remote, to the 
disgusting obscenities of ancient mythology ; while, at the same time, nothing 
is omitted which a pure mind would feel interested to know. We recom- 
mend the book as a valuable addition to the treatises in our schools and 
academies." — Education Reporter, Boston. 

" It was reserved for one of our Boston instructors to apply the condensing 
apparatus to this mass of crudities, and so to modernize tlie antiquities of the 
old Romans, as to make a befitting abridgment for schools of the first order. 
Mr. Dillaway has presented such a compilation as must be interesting to lads, 
and become popular as a text-book. Historical facts are stated with great sim- 
plicity and clearness ; the most important points arc seized upon, while trifling 
peculiarities are passed unnoticed." — Am. Traveller. 



VALUABLE SCHOOL BOOKS. 



COMPARATIVE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. The Earth 
and Man. Lectures on Comparative Physical Geography, in 
its relation to the History of Mankind. By Arnold Guyot. 
Translated from the French by Prof. C. C. Felton. With 
Illustrations. Second Thousand, 12mo. Price, $1 25. 

" Geography is here presented under a new and attractive phase. It 
is no longer a dry description of the features of the earth's surface. 
Tiie influence of soil, scenery, and climate upon character, has not yet 
received the consideration due to it from historians and philosophers. In 
the volume before us, the profound investigations of Humboldt, RIttcr, 
and others, in Physical Geography, are presented in a popular form, anS 
with the clearness and vivacity so characteristic of Frencli treatises on 
science. The work should be introduced into our higher schools." — 
T7ie Independent, JV*. Y. 

" These lectures form one of the most valuable contributions to geo- 
graphical science that has ever been published in this country. They 
invest the study of geography with an interest which will, we doubt not, 
surprise and delight many. They will open an entire new world to most 
readers, and will be found an invaluable aid to the teacher and student 
of geography." — Evening Traveller. 

THE CICERONIAN ; Or the Prussian Method of Teaching the 
Latin Language. Adapted to the use of American Schools, by 
B. Sears. 18mo., half mor. Price 50 cents. 

From the Professors of Harvard University. 

" "We beg leave to observe, that we consider this book a very valuable addi- 
tion to our stock of elementary works. Its great merit is, that it renders the 
elementary instruction in Latin less mechanical, by constantly culling the 
reasoning power of the pupil into action, and gives, from the beginning, a 
deeper insight into the very nature, principles, and laws not only of the Latin 
language, but of language in general. If the book required any other 
recommendation besides that of being the work of so thorough and experi- 
enced a scholar as Dr. Sears, it would be this, that the system illustrated in it 
is not a mere theory, but has been practically tested by many able instructors 
in Germany. "VVe wish that the same trial may be made here. 

Very respectfully yours, Charles Beck, 

C. C. FZLTON." 

From S. H. Taylor, Principal of Phillips'' Academy, Andover. 

" I have examined, with much pleasure and profit, the ' Ciceronian,' pre- 
pared by Dr. Sears. It is admirably adapted to make thorough teachers and 
thorough pupils. It requires of the teacher a precise and intimate acquaint- 
ance with the minutise of the Latin tongue, and necessarily induces in tlie 
pupil habits of close thought and nice discrimination. The plan of the work 
Is excellent. S. H. Taylor." 

RIEMORIA TECHNICA ; Or, the Art of Abbreviating those 
Studies which give the greatest Labor to the Memory ; includ- 
ing Numbers, Historical Dates, Geography, Astronomy, Gravi- 
ties, &c. By L. D. Johnson. Third Edition, revised and 
improved. Octavo, cloth back. Price 50 cents. 

" This system of Mnemotechny, differing considerably from the one intro* 
duced bj' Prof. Gouraud, is designed to furnish all the rules for aiding the 
memory without lessening mental culture, which can be made available dur- 
ing a course of elementiu-y study. The illustrations may be easily compre- 
hended by any person of ordinary mental capacity ; and the application of 
the principles upon which the system is based, must necessarily furnish an 
agreeable and useful exercise to the mind." - Xew York Teachers' Advocate. 



(ff^ 



'Jf 



PEOGEESSIVE PENMANSHIP, 

PLAIN AND ORNAMENTAL, 

FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS ; 

BY N. D. GOULD, 

Author vf ' Beauties of Writing,^ ' Writing Master^s Assistant.' 

Gould and Lincoln are happy to present to the public 
the above work from a well-known penman, whose great expert 
euce in execution and instruction has so eminently qualified him 
to devise a system of Penmanship adapted both to the wants of 
Schools, and for the exercise of the experienced Penman. 

The copies are arranged in progressive series, and are likewise 
so diversified by the introduction of variations in style, and 
especially by the interspersion of a great number of Capital let- 
ters, as to command the constant attention and exercise the 
ingenuity of the learner, thus removing some of the most serious 
obstacles to the success of the teacher. They are divided into 
five series, intended for the like number of books, and are so ar- 
ranged that a copy always comes over the top of the page on 
which it is to be written. 

There are ninety-six copies, presenting, in the first place, a 
regular inductive system of Penmanship for ordinary business 
purposes, followed by examples of every variety of Ornamental 
Writing. 

The Copy Books are of two sizes, medium and letter sheet, — 
thus accommodating the wants of those who desire larger sized 
books than are in general use. The letter sheet size is divided 
into four consecutive books ; the smaller sizes into five. 

The admirable and natural plan of the work, the beauty of its 
execution, the superior quality of the paper, and its cheajjuess, 
mast commend it to the favorable regard of every one. 

Teachers, School Committees, and others interested, are 
invited to examine this series, which is confidently presented 
as superior, in plan and execution, to any book of the kind 
heretofore published. 



